S. PORTLAND, Maine--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

More than 1.6 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year alone, according the American Cancer Society. It is estimated that new clinical research and medical information doubles every five years, and nowhere is this knowledge advancing more quickly than in the complex area of cancer care.

The Maine Center for Cancer Medicine (MCCM) is exploring the capabilities of Interactive Care Insights for Oncology, a new product developed by Anthems parent company, IBM and Memorial Sloan Kettering that utilizes IBMs Watson technology and Memorial Sloan-Ketterings clinical expertise.The Watson capability, available through the cloud or on premise, is expected to assist medical professionals and researchers by helping to identify individualized treatment options for patients with cancer, starting with lung cancer. The solution provides users with a detailed record of the data and information used to reach the treatment options. MCCM will tap into IBM Watson's ability to understand the nuances of human language, process questions akin to the way people think, and quickly cull through vast amounts of Big Data for relevant, evidence-based answers.

Interactive Care Insights for Oncology will bring real-time decision support to oncologists by using natural language processing capabilities to pull in all the medical information available about a specific patient, synthesize it, and then compare it with clinical evidence and cancer treatment guidelines, providing a more patient-specific and actionable clinical interpretation. Ultimately, the Watson-powered solutioncould help physicians to select the most effective treatment option while streamlining health plan approvals.

We are honored to have been asked to partner with IBM and Anthems parent company in bringing the IBM Watson technology to health care in Maine, said Tracey Weisberg, M.D., MCCM. The Watson technology, along with Memorial Sloan-Ketterings clinical expertise will bring more relevant oncologic information to the physician and patient, making treatment planning more comprehensive.

"IBM's work with MCCM and Anthem's parentis a great example of how technology and evidence based medicine can transform the way in which health care is practiced," said Manoj Saxena, IBM General Manager, Watson Solutions. "These breakthrough capabilities bring forward the first in a series of Watson-based technologies, which exemplifies the value of applying big data and analytics and cognitive computing to tackle the industrys most pressing challenges."

MCCM is providing Anthems parent company and Memorial Sloan-Kettering with valuable feedback that will shape thenext version of theproduct. Oncologists at MCCM will focus their attention onWatson's unique capabilities, such as how Watson presents information to the physician, and if the data is displayed in an actionableway and in logical order. Using these insights, the MCCM oncologistswill recommend features that will ultimately improve the usability of the product.

Our goal is to provide oncologists tools to help select the most effective treatment options for their patients and were excited to work with MCCM in this endeavor, said Dan Corcoran, president and general manager, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Maine. Their perspective is essential in ensuring the product utilizing IBMs Watson technology and Memorial Sloan-Ketterings clinical expertise will benefit physicians and ultimately, their patients.

According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 9,000 new cancer cases were diagnosed in Maine 2012.

We are also dedicated to innovation and directly apply such treatments, technologies and support models to the patient care experience whenever appropriate, noted Dr. Weisberg. Our collaboration with Anthem to test this new product developed by Anthems parent company, Memorial Sloan Kettering and IBM builds on our belief that innovation can truly transform health care.

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Maine Center for Cancer Medicine: On the Leading Edge of Cancer Treatment with IBM Watson