Grupo Ángeles Servicios de Salud today announced that it will adopt IBM Watson (NYSE: IBM) for Oncology trained by Memorial Sloan Kettering. This will be the first institution in Latin America to adopt this solution, that will provide oncologists insights to help them make more informed treatment decisions.

In Mexico there are 160 thousand new cases of cancer every year(1). As healthcare providers and systems seek to enable data-driven, evidence-based cancer care, an explosion of medical information has created both challenges and opportunities to help improve quality care. Currently, approximately 50,000 oncology research papers are published annually,(2) and by 2020 medical information is projected to double every 73 days(3), outpacing the ability of humans to keep up with the proliferation of medical knowledge.

Watson for Oncology identifies treatment options with supporting medical evidence for consideration by the treating oncologist, drawing from more than 300 medical journals, more than 200 textbooks, and nearly 15 million pages of text to provide insights about different treatment options and also provides oncologists with information regarding drug treatment options. Watson also ranks the evidence-based treatment options, linking to peer reviewed studies and clinical guidelines.

"Ángeles is the biggest private healthcare institution in Mexico. The introduction of Watson for Oncology will be a game changer for cancer patients in the whole country," said Florentino Bernardo Pérez, CIO Grupo Empresarial Ángeles. "With Watson, our team of oncologists can make informed treatment decisions for patients based on insights derived from the individuals' unique health status, medical research and other relevant data."

A growing body of data suggests the value of Watson for Oncology in cancer care. At ASCO 2017 clinicians presented new evidence about Watson cognitive technology and cancer care, for example:

Watson matched tumor board treatment recommendations in up to 96% of cases; reduced clinical trial screening time by 78%.

By the end of the year, Watson for Oncology will be available to support at least 12 cancer types, representing 80 percent of the global incidence of cancer.

In a qualitative study, oncologists in Mexico found Watson for Oncology to be useful to help them identify potential treatment options for their patients, particularly in clinics that lack subspecialist expertise, and for training medical students and residents.

"Our Vision with Watson for Oncology is to enable physicians to focus on delivering patient-centric cancer care helping Oncologists and institutions to deliver next generation cancer care at scale and reduce unnecessary treatment variability through evidence-based treatment recommendations," said Juan Hoyos, Watson Health Executive Leader, IBM Latin America. "We are proud to be working with hospitals and health organizations like Ángeles to give access to cognitive computing tool into the hands of physicians worldwide."