Microsoft using search queries to diagnose pancreatic cancer

Microsoft scientists have published a study in the Journal of Oncology Practice in which they show how analysing search engine queries can identify internet users who are suffering pancreatic cancer even before diagnosis. The study suggests that early detection can increase the five-year survival rate of the disease from 3% to 5-7%. The Microsoft team were able to accurately distinguish between genuine, symptomatic searches and casual or anxiety-driven searches. Continuing to study search query evidence for other diseases, the team said that symptom alert data could be made available as part of a wider health service offered by companies such as Microsoft.

Microsoft scientists have demonstrated that by analyzing large samples of search engine queries they may in some cases be able to identify internet users who are suffering from pancreatic cancer, even before they have received a diagnosis of the disease.

The scientists said they hoped their work could lead to early detection of cancer. Their study was published on Tuesday in The Journal of Oncology Practice by Dr. Eric Horvitz and Dr. Ryen White, the Microsoft researchers, and John Paparrizos, a Columbia University graduate student.

“We asked ourselves, ‘If we heard the whispers of people online, would it provide strong evidence or a clue that something’s going on?’” Dr. Horvitz said.

The researchers focused on searches conducted on Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, that indicated someone had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. From there, they worked backward, looking for earlier queries that could have shown that the Bing user was experiencing symptoms before the diagnosis. Those early searches, they believe, can be warning flags.