The 2nd Chinese Conference on Intelligent Oncology was held from June 4 to 5, 2021 in Chongqing. The event was sponsored by Special Committee on Intelligent Oncology of Chinese Anti-Cancer Association and organized by Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, with assistance of Chongqing Medical Biotechnology Association. It is the first large-scale academic and scientific knowledge forum on AI and oncology, and its mission is to expedite application of AI technology in cancer diagnosis by promoting frontier academic exchange and cooperation among enterprises, research institutes and universities.
The opening ceremony of the event was held on the morning of June 5, 2021.
Qiu Chengli, a second-class inspector of the Department of Scientific and Technological Talents and Scientific Popularization under the Ministry of Science and Technology, Liu Hanlong, vice president of Chongqing University, Zhao Ping, the 7th chairman of China Cancer Research Federation, Bu Hong, head of the Institute of Clinical Pathology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, and former vice president of Sichuan University, Ren Youmao, head of the Data Center of the Development Center for Medical Science and Technology, National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China, Feng Guangxin, head of the Department of Basic Research of Chongqing Science and Technology Bureau, Wu Yongzhong, vice chairman of China Anti-cancer Association and secretary of CPC Committee of Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Wang Ping, director of Tianjin Office of Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Feng Jifeng, secretary of CPC Committee of Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, Huang Yunchao, director of Yunnan Cancer Hospital, Song Yongduan, dean of the School of Automation of Chongqing University, and Liao Xiaofeng, dean of the School of Computer Sciences of Chongqing University, appeared at the event. More than 600 experts and researchers in oncology and artificial intelligence attended the Conference.
Xu Bo, chairman of the Special Committee on Intelligent Oncology of Chinese Anti-Cancer Association and director of Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, presided over the Conference and addressed the audience. According to Xu, AI is one of the most important development areas in this digital era. In recent years, based on the big data generated in the process of medical diagnosis and treatment, the application of artificial intelligence in the field of medical oncology has developed rapidly. Artificial intelligence can be used to improve the diagnosis rate of cancer, predict the treatment effect of patients, and guide the development of drugs, and therefore plays an important role in global cancer control. Xu expressed his hope that this Conference would serve as a new starting point to promote the development and progress of cancer prevention and treatment by providing a platform for frontier academic exchanges.
In his speech, Wu Yongzhong said that with the continuous development and progress of information technology, the cross integration of artificial intelligence and oncology has become even more prominent. In 2019, the Special Committee on Intelligent Oncology of Chinese Anti-Cancer Association was established by China Anti-cancer Association. Since the establishment of the Special Committee, it has been making constant efforts to lead the development of cancer artificial intelligence and talent training. Recently, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital has also set up the Intelligent Oncology Research Center. This Center will work to explore the innovative application of artificial intelligence and clinical oncology, promote the cooperation among enterprises, universities and research institutions and facilitate achievement transformation, in an ultimate effort to further improve the overall diagnosis and treatment level of malignant tumors, and ensure that patients get standardized and effective treatment.
According to Liu, as important places for personnel training and scientific research, colleges and universities undertake the critical mission of providing medical education, cultivating medical talents, promoting medical progress and benefiting human health. In recent years, Chongqing University, as a world-first-rate university under construction in the western part of China, seized the historical opportunity of the development of medical and health undertakings in China and Chongqing. According to the requirements of the national "new medicine" construction, it has been concentrating efforts on development of medical disciplines, taking the construction of first-rate medical disciplines as the opportunity, the construction of first-rate medical talents as the starting point, and the cultivation of first-rate medical talents as the goal. In addition, it has been comprehensively deepening the reform of collaborative innovation of medicine, teaching and research, and contributing to the "Double-First-Rate" construction and "healthy China" strategy. At present, the state government is attaching great importance to "AI + medical treatment", and has successively issued a number of national policies and special policies on medical AI, which have promoted the application of AI in various medical scenarios. Undoubtedly, intelligent medical treatment has a bright future if we can build a solid cornerstone for technological innovation and utilize it to benefit people.
Qiu Chengli, a second-class inspector of the Department of Scientific and Technological Talents and Scientific Popularization under the Ministry of Science and Technology, stressed that the incidence rate and mortality rate of malignant tumors have been rising continuously, and cancer has become a major disease endangering people's lives and health. With the improvement of medical technology and the popularization of cancer prevention and control knowledge, cancer is gradually recognized as a chronic disease, and the concept of prevention and control has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. As a new discipline, intelligent oncology is still in urgent need of promotion and development. Qiu expressed his hope that through this Conference, a platform for exchange and learning can be built up to allow the experts and researchers to strengthen cooperation, promote in-depth integration of medicine and engineering, work together to create standardized diagnosis and treatment process of cancer, and tap the potential and value of artificial intelligence technology in early screening, diagnosis and treatment and prognosis prediction and evaluation of cancer. For this purpose, we should take into consideration the national development plan of artificial intelligence, and make efforts to promote the application of new models and new means of artificial intelligence technology in tumor diagnosis and treatment, establish an efficient and accurate tumor intelligent medical system, and comprehensively improve the diagnosis and treatment level of oncology in China.
After the opening ceremony, Zhao Ping, chairman of China Cancer Research Foundation, Tian Jie, a researcher of Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Bu Hong successively delivered 19 keynote speeches and lectures on frontier topics under titles like Artificial Intelligence and Early Diagnosis and Treatment of Tumor, Imageomics Based on Image and Pathological Big Data Fusion and Its Clinical Application, and Thinking of Case Cloud and Intelligence. Experts and researchers in areas including AI and oncology also delivered speeches and shared their ideas.
It is reported that in addition to the achievements of application of AI in oncology exhibited at the event, the overall development level of AI in oncology in China and the priority strategy, construction of the standard system of artificial intelligence technology in tumor imaging and pathology, and the talent training mechanism of intelligent oncology were analyzed and discussed at the Conference. Furthermore, attendants had an in-depth discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of the development pattern of intelligent oncology of China, and offered suggestions on decision-making on development strategy suitable for the national condition of China.
