Lee, Daniel (2019) Analysis and Assessment on Effects of Different Therapies in Cancer Treatment Based on Fuzzy Cognitive Maps. PhD thesis, Victoria University.

Abstract

Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Even though cancer death rates have slightly decreased in the last decades, the painful experience of cancer diagnosis and treatment still occurs every day globally. It is critically important to develop advanced computing technologies to better understand the effectiveness and management of cancer treatment. Nevertheless, most of the present tools for analysis and assessment therapy effects in cancer treatment are based on immediate relative factors and laboratory reports. The causal relationship of the key factors is not recorded or modelled, thus not analysed and communicated effectively. Fuzzy cognitive map (FCM), as a medical decision support tool, has been applied in medical practice and overall appreciated in recent decades. In this thesis, clinical cancer cases were analysed and assessed with the help of FCM. It is particularly applied to visualise the knowledge and experience about effects of different types of therapies, including the alternative therapies of sonodynamic and photodynamic therapy and traditional Chinese medicine modalities. Through the cases study with the help of FCM, the model can clearly show that the effects or outcomes of cancer treatments are critically influenced by the causally related factors. The analysis and assessment results demonstrated that FCMs can visually represent the cognitive knowledge, particularly the causal relationship among key factors in the combination of different cancer therapies, while the individuals’ causal influence factors showing certain degrees of capability for driving different effective outcomes. This modelling will enable further analysis and communication of the rationales of different intervention or decision makings from different practitioners and specialists.

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