Informatics Innovation Award

The oncology software system called RealTime Oncology Treatment Calculator developed by the Hungarian cancer researchers of Oncompass Medicine has won the 2019 Informatics Innovation Award of the Hungarian Association for Innovation.

The decision support software developed by the cancer researchers of Oncompass Medicine is an internationally acclaimed innovation - last year the American Forbes referred to it as the solution of the future -, that facilitates the selection of the personalized therapy of cancer patients.

The software provides a new precondition for personalized precision medication besides the molecular diagnostic examinations and the targeted medication. There can be 6 million mutations of 600 genes in the background of cancer illnesses, and in most cases there are more gene mutations present simultaneously in a patient. The special medical algorithm used by the software connects the gene mutations with hundreds of medications available on the market and thousands of active substances available in clinical examinations.

"Our creed, the goal of Oncompass Medicine, has been since the very beginning, to provide all patients the available therapy that is the most likely to be effective according to our present knowledge. Luckily we have more than a hundred registered, targeted medications. Molecular diagnostics is becoming available in more and more places, in personalized medication - for the sake of fast and precise decision making - decision support based on artificial intelligence is becoming more and more justified.

The first medical software that ranks the possible medications for the patients, based on the gene defects in the patient's tumour is the system developed by us. However, the calculator never substitutes the therapist, the machine can only consider the mechanics of the tumour, the actual treatment of the patient is a lot more complex task." - summarizes Dr. István Peták cancer researcher, molecular pharmacologist, the founder and scientific director of Oncompass Medicine. The software developed by Oncompass Medicine is a continuously growing knowledge machine, that utilizes all the knowledge it has to make a decision. The machine processes the knowledge loaded into it by more than 10 people during more than five years, within 20 thousands seconds.

Coronavirus and cancer

Dr. István Peták explained that it is of high importance to deal with the case of cancer patients during the coronavirus-pandemic, we should not allow the situation cause disadvantage to the patients.

"The situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic speeds up the expansion of digital medication, the medical software and telemedication together can bring such development in health care never seen before."

Health care, including the cancer patient care has been going through a process of digitalization, informatics reforms health care - this process is outstandingly accelerated in the situation caused by the pandemic. Our calculator is also a cloud-based device, to what both the therapists and the patients can register and apply for decision support online. Our professionals work online in the situation caused by the pandemic - cooperating with the oncologist, geneticist, bio IT specialist, info-bionomist, molecular biologist within the virtual molecular tumor board - and the patients can participate in the consultation online.

The situation opens new dimensions, we are planning to invite oncologist colleagues working in other oncology centers or in other countries of the world, to our video conferences. This can lead to the democratization of the availability of the precision oncology treatments, since the patient's location will not influence the access anymore. The evaluation, the analysis and the consultation also takes place in the virtual space so the patients do not suffer disadvantage even in this critical period." - highlighted Dr. István Peták. The interest is high towards the award-winning software of Oncompass Medicine both in Hungary and abroad, therefore Hungary has the possibility to export innovation and knowledge in the digital, global space, thus facilitating the effective medical services.