TEHRAN –Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS) has developed a system based on artificial intelligence (AI) which can detect breast cancer with 94 percent accuracy.

“This cancer detection system is helpful in highly accurate and timely diagnosis of cancer,” IRNA quoted Abdolreza Pazuki, the IUMS president, as saying.

Cancers are the leading cause of premature mortality in the country, according to the Ministry and Health.

Based on the surveys conducted in the last 30 years, breast cancer has the highest prevalence, 12 percent, among women in the country, constituting 26 percent of women's cancers.

In Iran, breast cancer is the second-leading cause of death in women as around 30 percent of patients die each year, nearly as much as the world average.

Earlier detection of cancer increases the chance of successful treatment and survival.

Plan to prevent three most common cancers among women

In February 2023, the Ministry of Health launched a plan aimed at preventing the three most common cancers among women, namely breast, colorectal, and cervical cancers.

These cancers are the most preventable and at the same time they account for 40 percent of cancers among women and 25 percent of cancers both among men and women, ISNA quoted Ali Qanbari-Motlaq, a health ministry official, as saying.

The pilot phase of the plan was carried out in 2016 and 2017, he said, adding that in 2018, the development plan of the first phase started.

He pointed out that almost 150,000 people in the country are diagnosed with cancer every year.

Countries are divided into five categories for cancer incidence, and Iran is at the average level in this regard, he noted.

55% of premature death caused by cancer

Cancers account for more than 55 thousand deaths annually. Some 34 thousand deaths out of 122 thousand premature deaths (under 70 years of age) and 11 thousand deaths out of 85 thousand very premature deaths (under 50 years of age) are caused by various cancers.

The latest national cancer census shows that the number of new cancer cases in Iran is expected to increase to 160,000 by the Iranian calendar year 1404 (March 2025-March 2026), indicating an increase of 43 percent.

About 29 percent increase in cancers in Iran at that time will be related to changes in the demographic structure of Iran that is population growth and aging, and 14 percent is due to the development and aggravation of factors that increase cancers.

The most predicted rise in new cases of cancer in Iran during 1404 compared to 1395 (ended on March 20, 2017) will be thyroid cancer (114 percent), prostate (67 percent), breast (63 percent), colon (54 percent), ovary (51 percent), lung (49 percent), non-hodgkin's lymphoma (45 percent), brain and spine (40 percent), stomach (30 percent), bladder (26 percent) and blood cancer (24 percent).

The first 10 most common cancers in Iran are breast, prostate, colon, stomach, lung, bladder, thyroid, uterus, brain, and spine cancers.

The most common cancers of Iranian women include breast, colon, thyroid, stomach, uterine, leukemia, ovary, brain and spine, lungs and esophagus.

Around 250,000 Iranians are now living with cancer. Half of cancers can be almost treated and the rest can be avoided.

National cancer control program

With the support of the World Health Organization, the national cancer control program has been developed, which sets out the Ministry of Health’s roadmap up to the Iranian calendar year 1404 (March 2025-March 2026).

The purpose of the program is to reduce cancer prevalence and mortality while improving the quality of patients’ lives, which can serve as a model for other countries, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

The program includes two important documents, namely, “development of national cancer care network” and “development of cancer human resources”, which resulted in the establishment of the early diagnostic centers.

Achievements in cancer treatment

In January, an Iranian knowledge-based company announced readiness to meet the needs of regional countries as well as North Africa for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.

HPV is known to cause cervical cancer in women.

The product has been manufactured at a much lower price, 75 percent cheaper, compared to foreign samples.

Producing the HPV vaccine needs one of the most complicated technologies in the world, and Iran has been able to produce the vaccine domestically.

Passing quality control tests and pre-clinical trials, the clinical trial of the HPV vaccine started in 2019 on healthy volunteers.

Once the vaccine proved its safety and effectiveness in increasing the antibody titer, it obtained the Food and Drug Organization’s approval to enter the market in 2020.

In September 2023, an Iranian knowledge-based company succeeded in producing ‘ibrutinib’ which is used to treat various blood cancers, making the country the third producer of the medication in the world.

Now Iran, India, and China are the only three countries in the world that have the high-tech knowledge to produce ibrutinib and necessary raw material, IRNA reported.

In August 2023, a group of researchers, led by an Iranian scientist, successfully analyzed the chemical composition of individual human cells.

This method can help with an earlier detection of cancer and a more efficient treatment, according to Mehr News Agency.

Iran to become a leading country in AI

Iran ranks 17th in artificial intelligence in terms of scientific production and publication of articles in the world, while ranks 78th in terms of its application in the world, Rouhollah Dehqani-Firouzabadi, Vice President for Science, Technology and Knowledge-based Economy, has said.

The Vice Presidency has prepared three comprehensive plans to develop artificial intelligence in different sectors.

Currently, artificial intelligence is the first priority for the development of technology and is pursued with three programs, IRNA quoted Firouzabadi as saying

Artificial intelligence is a comprehensive technology and affects all other areas of technology, he highlighted.

“The plans in the field of artificial intelligence include scientific development programs that are mostly pursued in universities. The second plan is technology development programs that are pursued in companies that work in the field of artificial intelligence. And the third plan is the creation of a national technology hub in the field of artificial intelligence."

In January 2022, Shahram Moein, head of the innovation and development center of artificial intelligence at the Research Institute of Information and Communication Technology, said, “Iran will be placed among the top 10 countries in artificial intelligence (AI) by 2032 based on the national document on artificial intelligence strategy.”

The study of the national artificial intelligence development roadmap started two years ago at the Research Institute of Information and Communication Technology and was officially completed by the end of November 2021.

“To draft this document, strategic documents of 23 countries in the field of artificial intelligence were evaluated so that areas such as environment, health, transportation, online education, energy, robotics, industry, agriculture, and security development are among the priority areas of AI.

Among the goals of this document are 80 percent of research to meet the needs of the country, the use of 45 percent of artificial intelligence in industries, $8 billion investment in artificial intelligence, and a 12 percent share of AI in the GDP,” he explained.

MT/MG