Microsoft Diagnoses Cancer Before Doctors

Researchers at Microsoft have found some interesting patterns in search engine queries that have potential to predict the likelihood of someone having pancreatic cancer before any medical tests have been run. This is not the first time search engine data has been used in a health-oriented context. In 2013, a study found that this data could reveal unintended side effects from prescription drugs before they were found by the Food and Drug Administration’s warning system.

Credit: gbcol.edu

This study was led by Dr. Eric Horvitz and Dr. Ryen White, the Microsoft researchers, and John Paparrizos, a Columbia University graduate student. Data was collected from Bing, a search engine run by Microsoft. Dr. Horvitz is professionally trained as both a medical doctor and computer scientist. “The new research is based on the ability of the Microsoft team to accurately distinguish between web searches that are casual or based on anxiety and those that are genuine searches for specific medical symptoms by people who are experiencing them,” said Horvitz.

Dr. Eric Horvitz
(Credit: tribune.com)

Pancreatic cancer has a very low survival rate, with most patients dying less than five years after diagnosis, making any early detection systems extremely valuable to the general public. This study has the potential to have wider applications in cancer detection; however, some consumers may object to yet another company keeping records of their online activity.