In a significant move towards accessibility, researchers have made a free online version of TIMES available, allowing users worldwide to upload pathological staining images for immediate risk assessment.

A Chinese research team from the University of Science and Technology of China has developed an AI tool named TIMES that predicts liver cancer recurrence with an impressive accuracy of 82.2 percent, as reported in the journal Nature.

Liver cancer is a significant global health issue, being the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths, with postoperative recurrence rates reaching as high as 70 percent, underscoring the need for accurate prediction tools.

Led by Sun Cheng, the research team created TIMES to assess the likelihood of liver cancer relapse by analyzing the spatial distribution patterns of immune cells within the tumor microenvironment.

TIMES is the first liver cancer recurrence prediction tool to integrate spatial immune data, highlighting that the organization of immune cells is crucial for determining clinical outcomes.

To develop this innovative assessment method, the researchers employed advanced techniques such as spatial transcriptomics, proteomics, multispectral immunohistochemistry, and AI-driven spatial analysis.

The research team aims to revolutionize decision-making in personalized treatments, especially in resource-limited settings, and is collaborating with industry partners to standardize clinical applications.

The TIMES system was trained using liver cancer tissue samples from 61 patients, ensuring a robust data-driven foundation that emphasizes the importance of immune cell spatial organization.