Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have pioneered the use of computerized devices to help patients and their physicians decide among the major treatment choices for several cancers.
Rather than relying on general risk groups of patient populations who share similar characteristics, their prediction tools provide specific information.
Currently available tools include:
those that predict outcomes for surgery and radiation therapy in prostate cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and sarcoma
a tool that predicts the chance of breast cancer's spread from the sentinel lymph nodes to axillary lymph nodes
a tool that predicts patient risk after surgery for gastric cancer
a tool to help assess lung cancer risk of long-term cigarette smokers
a tool designed to assist physicians in predicting a patient's probability and length of survival after pancreatic cancer surgery
a tool that predicts the likelihood that disease has spread to lymph nodes in patients with melanoma
The breast, lung, prostate, and sarcoma prediction tools are available in both an easy-to-use online version, as well as downloadable Palm OS (including Treo), Pocket PC, and Macromedia Flash programs. The gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer, and renal cell carcinoma prediction tools are available in Palm OS or Pocket PC versions only.
The Palm OS versions that I've looked at are written using AppForge, and appear to be very well-done. However, they're clearly intended to be used by knowledgeable cancer treatment specialists, and will be of little use to generalists or laypeople.
Click here for more information, and to download the tools.
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