AI helps create cancer vaccine for dying dog

An Australian data scientist designed an experimental mRNA therapy that shrank tumors in his pet after conventional treatment failed

An Australian data scientist has used ChatGPT to develop a potential treatment for his dog after it was diagnosed with a deadly form of cancer.

Two years ago, Paul Conyngham’s staffy-shar pei cross Rosie was diagnosed with mast cell cancer, an aggressive form of the disease in dogs. Veterinary surgery and chemotherapy slowed the tumors but failed to shrink them.

Conyngham, an electrical and computing engineer and co-founder of Core Intelligence Technologies, turned to ChatGPT to brainstorm possible treatments before using his expertise in data analysis to identify mutations in the tumor, map altered proteins using AlphaFold, and match potential targets with drugs.

“The first step was to reach out to the university to get Rosie’s DNA sequenced. The idea is you take the healthy DNA out of her blood and then the DNA out of her tumor and sequence both to see exactly where the mutations have occurred,” he told the Australian.

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Researchers at UNSW’s Ramaciotti Centre for Genomics helped sequence Rosie’s DNA, while scientists used Conyngham’s mRNA design to synthesize the vaccine nanoparticle. The treatment was administered by veterinary oncologist Professor Rachel Allavena of the University of Queensland, who oversaw the experimental therapy.

Rosie received her first injection in December, followed by a booster shot the following month. Despite the cancer being advanced, the dog’s condition improved within weeks of treatment, with one tumor shrinking by nearly half. Rosie now reportedly appears healthier and more energetic.

Scientists are now sequencing the tumor again to design a second vaccine targeting cancer cells that did not respond to the first treatment.

Personalized mRNA cancer vaccines are also being developed for humans. Last year, the Russian Health Ministry approved several experimental cancer therapies developed by state-funded laboratories, including Neooncovac, an mRNA-based vaccine for advanced melanoma, and Oncopept, a peptide treatment targeting aggressive colorectal tumors. The personalized drugs could soon become available free of charge under Russia’s national health insurance system.