Arab News Japan

TOKYO: A new collaboration between MIT Jameel Clinic, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s global center for artificial intelligence in healthcare, and Japan’s National Cancer Center Hospital is aiming to transform how breast cancer is predicted and prevented in Japan.

Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the MIT Abdul Latif Jameel Clinic for Machine Learning in Health, known as MIT Jameel Clinic, is a world leader in developing AI systems that detect disease early and support clinical decision-making.

The Clinic was co-founded in 2018 by MIT and Community Jameel, the international philanthropy founded by Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel KBE, a Saudi entrepreneur and philanthropist whose family has long-standing ties to Japan dating back more than 70 years through trade, investment and cultural partnerships.

One of the Jameel Clinic’s most promising innovations, Mirai, is now being evaluated specifically for Japanese women. Mirai is a deep learning model capable of analyzing mammograms to predict a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer up to five years in advance, and has already been validated on over two million mammograms across 72 hospitals in 23 countries.

The new collaboration was announced at a ceremony attended by Mohammed Jameel KBE and Dr. Yasuyuki Seto, director of the National Cancer Center Hospital.

The project begins with a study analyzing mammography data collected between 2013 and 2024 to determine whether Mirai can accurately predict breast cancer risk among Japanese women.

The results could support a more personalized national screening system, enabling closer monitoring for high-risk individuals while reducing unnecessary testing for those at lower risk.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women in Japan, accounting for 23 percent of all female cancer diagnoses, or about 98,782 cases annually. Nearly 16,000 women die each year.

Yet when detected early, the five-year survival rate exceeds 90 percent, underscoring the life-saving impact of earlier identification and timely care.

Japan currently recommends mammography every two years for women aged 40 and above, but interpretation still relies heavily on human expertise, a process AI may help strengthen through greater accuracy and consistency.

Mohammed Jameel KBE said: “Mirai is a powerful tool that harnesses AI to improve cancer care for women around the world. With the Jameel family’s deep and longstanding connection to Japan, we are delighted that the MIT Jameel Clinic and Community Jameel are collaborating with the National Cancer Center Hospital to open the way for Mirai to improve care for Japanese women at risk of breast cancer.”

Dr. Kan Yonemori, Director of the Department of Medical Oncology at the National Cancer Center Hospital, commented: “This study has the potential to contribute to improving women’s health by predicting an individual’s future risk of breast cancer using large-scale mammography screening data. Our team in Japan is committed to advancing this international collaboration with the MIT Jameel Clinic.”

Regina Barzilay, AI faculty lead at MIT Jameel Clinic, added: “With Mirai’s ability to predict a patient’s cancer risk up to five years in advance, my hope is that this research collaboration will inspire new approaches to breast cancer screening and treatment in Japan.”

Mirai will analyze mammograms from women screened at the National Cancer Center Hospital and Yotsuya Medical Cube between 2013 and 2024. Predicted risk scores will be compared against actual outcomes to assess the model’s accuracy and reliability for Japanese patients.

If validated, the study could mark a major step toward AI-enabled, risk-based breast cancer

screening in Japan, supporting earlier detection, more personalized care pathways, and ultimately, better outcomes for women nationwide.

The study is supported by Community Jameel and Jameel Corporation.