LANTERN study: A multi-omics digital human avatar for integrating precision medicine into clinical practice for lung cancer patients

Abstract

Background Lung cancer is a highly fatal cancer with poor prognosis and management despite recent therapeutic advancements. However, Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents an opportunity to leverage multiple omics datasets to create accurate predictive models for better lung cancer care. These models can be used individually or integrated into multi-omics Digital Human Avatars (DHAs) to assist in clinical decision-making and revolutionize care and research. DHAs combine various omics-based variables with clinical factors for a comprehensive understanding of the disease, enabling personalized treatment decisions to improve patient outcomes. Introducing DHAs in clinical practice can help uncover previously unexplored links among variables and significantly enhance the understanding of lung cancer. Trial design Trial design: The LANTERN study is a three-year, multicenter observational clinical study funded by ERA PerMed JTC2022 that aims to develop predictive models for the diagnosis and histological characterization of lung cancer, as well as personalized treatments and feedback data loops for preventive health strategies and quality of life management. The study involves a consortium of five European institutions and will collect multi-omics data from 600 non-small cell lung cancer patients, including demographic and physiological data, medical history, clinic functional and lab data, histo-pathological, immunological and genomic data, radiomics and quantitative imaging data, and IoT-derived data. The study will develop a dedicated database for all omics domains considered and perform a comprehensive molecular characterization and genomic profiling of tumor samples. The second phase of the project will focus on building multivariate models trained through advanced ML and AI techniques. Finally, the developed models will be validated to test their robustness, transferability, and generalizability, leading to the development of Digital Human Avatars (DHAs). The LANTERN study is committed to allowing the reuse of research data according to the FAIR principles and hopes that this model will eventually be utilized in clinical routine to personalize the strategy of care in lung cancer patients. Clinical trial identification NCT05802771. Legal entity responsible for the study Prof. Filippo Lococo. Funding ERA PerMed JTC2022. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.