PathAI Launches AI Tool for Fibrosis Analysis in Cancer Research

PathAI has introduced PathExplore™ Fibrosis on its AISight® Translational Research platform, an AI tool designed to revolutionize fibrosis, collagen, and fiber quantification directly from whole-slide images of hematoxylin and eosin-stained tissue. This technology offers unprecedented ability to analyze morphology and spatial organization of fibrosis in the tumor microenvironment directly from routine pathology images at scale, providing new insights into tumor biology and therapeutic response.

Fibrosis and collagen fibers are emerging as crucial biomarkers and drug targets due to their potential roles in cancer progression, metastasis, and immune response. Leveraging advanced machine learning techniques, PathExplore™ Fibrosis offers scalable, rapid analysis, making it a transformative tool in oncology translational research. PathAI's solution facilitates this analysis directly from routine H&E pathology images from standard imaging platforms, democratizing access to key insights into tumor biology and therapeutic responses without the need for custom microscopy.

Ben Glass, VP of Product and Translational Research at PathAI, stated that what began as internal research has evolved into a powerful tool for cancer researchers, enabling them to explore previously inaccessible aspects of tumor morphology. Fibrosis is increasingly recognized as a potentially important biomarker in cancer research, and by making it possible to study this directly from routine H&E images, researchers can scale their understanding of disease biology, evaluate drug efficacy, and drive the development of new fibrosis-related therapies.

Eric Walk, M.D., FCAP, chief medical officer at PathAI, emphasized that by combining the cell and tissue features provided by PathExplore™ with collagen and fibrosis measurements from PathExplore™ Fibrosis, researchers now have access to an unprecedented multidimensional view of the tumor microenvironment. From a single image, researchers can ask and answer new questions about the organization and morphology of fibrosis in the TME and how this inhibits or promotes cancer progression.

PathAI will be presenting novel findings utilizing PathExplore™ Fibrosis and the underlying technology at the upcoming Society of Immunotherapy of Cancer conference (SITC 2024) on November 6-11, 2024, in Houston, Texas. The research includes collaborations with Incendia Therapeutics and focuses on stromal collagen features from H&E-stained whole slide images associated with lymphocyte infiltration and survival following checkpoint inhibition in patients with non-small cell lung cancer, as well as machine learning-based collagen fiber quantification enabling analysis of the pancreatic cancer tumor microenvironment.