Reflections from the MULTIR Hybrid Symposium Advancing Oncology with AI: Innovative Tools, Better Outcomes 2 October 2025 Hannover & Online
- Nov 18
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 19
The MULTIR consortium’s hybrid symposium brought together clinicians, researchers, AI experts, industry partners, ethicists and patient advocates from across Europe and beyond to explore how artificial intelligence can transform cancer care: safely, equitably and with patients at the centre.
Anchored by opening remarks from Dr. Isabelle Budin Ljøsne (Norwegian Institute of Public Health) and Prof. Lars Dyrskjøt Andersen (Aarhus University), the programme focused on three interconnected themes:
The science of oncology & AI
Dr. Maria Frantzi (Mosaiques Diagnostics) and Prof. Lise Boussemart (MULTIR Coordinator, INSERM and oncodermatologist, Nantes University Hospital) introduced MULTIR’s core vision: using AI to decipher tumour–host interactions across melanoma, lung and bladder cancer to better guide immunotherapy and combination treatments.
They highlighted MULTIR’s integration of single-cell data, proteomics, imaging, clinical records and lifestyle factors (supported by privacy-preserving synthetic data) to develop explainable risk calculators, treatment decision-support tools and “synthetic patient avatars” that help clinicians identify who is most likely to benefit from which therapy, and when.
Building on this, Prof. Mihaela van der Schaar (University of Cambridge) presented a keynote on next-generation AI agents and collaborative “AI scientists” that can systematically explore complex biomedical data, generate and test hypotheses, and accelerate discovery, always with transparency, human oversight and ethical guardrails.
Societal impact, ethics & patient perspectives
Mr. Oliver Smith (Eticas) examined key risks, such as privacy, bias, reliability and automation bias and underlined the importance of strong governance, independent audits and continuous real-world monitoring.
Mr. Ernst-Günther Carl (European prostate cancer advocate) showcased a multilingual, guideline-based prostate cancer chatbot as a practical example of trustworthy, privacy-preserving AI for patients.
Prof. Catherine Tourette-Turgis (Patients’ University, Sorbonne) shared approaches to co-designed education and risk communication that translate complex prediction into meaningful, actionable information—without replacing the essential patient–clinician dialogue.
AI innovations in cancer diagnosis & treatment
Dr. Siraj Ali (Lunit) presented advances in AI-powered analysis of routine pathology slides to characterise the tumour microenvironment and support more precise use of immunotherapies and combinations. His talk illustrated how explainable, image-based biomarkers could move toward real-world clinical decision support.
Closing panel: trust, transparency & the future of AI in oncology. A lively hybrid panel moderated by Mr. Rob White (Melanoma Patient Network Europe) brought together:
Prof. Lise Boussemart, Oncodermatologist, Department of Dermatology/Oncology, Nantes University Hospital
Prof. Harald Mischak, Founder & CEO, Mosaiques Diagnostics
Mr. Tomislav Krizan, Founder & CEO, ATOMIC Intelligence
The discussion addressed key questions of trust, transparency, equity, regulation and clinical responsibility.
A strong consensus emerged:
“AI should augment—not replace—expert clinicians and empowered patients.”
The MULTIR consortium warmly thanks all speakers, chairs, patient representatives, technical teams and participants who joined us in Hannover and online.
You can watch some of the symposium sessions here
