🤖 AI Helped a Patient Beat Cancer After Doctors Ran Out of Options

Sid Sijbrandij, co-founder and former CEO of GitLab, utilized AI to combat osteosarcoma—a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer. He shared his story at an OpenAI forum.

In 2022, Sid was diagnosed with a 6 cm tumor growing from his spine. Standard treatments failed: he went through surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, but the cancer returned in 2024. At that point, his oncologist had no approved options left. Sid was told he likely had only months to live.

⚙️ Sid stepped down as CEO and decided to approach his illness like a startup, bringing together experts in AI, medicine, and genetics. They fed hundreds of datasets into AI systems, including single-cell DNA and RNA sequencing, medical imaging, and blood test results.

The AI helped analyze the data—identifying potential treatment targets and generating questions for specialists. Jacob Stern, who worked with Sid, said he used ChatGPT to understand unfamiliar areas of medicine and hold his own in conversations with experts.

⚡️ The analysis revealed a high level of the FAP protein in Sid's tumor. This led them to a German doctor who offered an experimental therapy targeting FAP using radioactive compounds. After two rounds of treatment, the tumor shrank by 20%, and about 60% of its cells were destroyed, making surgical removal possible.

Sid is now cancer-free. He has made all his data publicly available at osteosarc.com and is launching companies to help bring this approach to other patients. According to him, some of these tests are already accessible if patients can convince their doctors to consider more unconventional options.

What do you think about this approach to treatment?

❤️ — Inspiring
🔥 — Only accessible to the wealthy…

@hiaimediaen