A Grade 9 learner from Curro Mahikeng has earned international acclaim after being recognised in the United States for his research into how artificial intelligence (AI) could help improve lung cancer screening and early detection.
According to news reports, Brandon Mashandudze (14) was named an American Lung Cancer Scholar through the International Lung Cancer Innovation Challenge, an international competition that encourages middle and high school learners to develop innovative solutions related to lung cancer screening, medical technology and public health.
Organised by the American Lung Cancer screening initiative, the challenge brings together young aspiring researchers from around the world to explore new approaches to tackling one of the world’s deadliest diseases. Participants work alongside professional mentors to develop projects focused on lung cancer awareness, screening and early detection.
Mashandudze’s research examines how AI and digital health technologies could be used to enhance the detection and assessment of lung cancer, a disease that remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths globally.
His achievement also carries a prestigious academic connection, with the programme involving experts from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, exposing participants to leading voices in medicine and healthcare innovation.
The young scholar was reported as saying he chose to focus on lung cancer because of the critical role early detection plays in improving patient outcomes.
According to the Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa), lung cancer is among the five most common cancers affecting South Africans, developing in one out of every 123 men and one out of every 277 women.
The disease is also the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide and one of the deadliest. Research by Discovery has found that lung cancer has the lowest five-year survival rate among common cancers, including breast, prostate and colorectal cancer. Only 13% of people diagnosed with the disease survive beyond five years.
Despite accounting for the highest number of cancer-related deaths globally, awareness of lung cancer remains relatively low in South Africa.
Cansa has urged South Africans to become more familiar with the symptoms of the disease, emphasising that early diagnosis significantly increases the chances of successful treatment. It added that when lung cancer is detected before it has spread, treatment outcomes are generally far more favourable.
For Mashandudze, the challenge offered an opportunity to explore how emerging technologies such as AI can help address this pressing health issue, while demonstrating how young innovators can contribute to solving real-world medical challenges.
“His achievement also comes with a Harvard connection, as the programme involves experts from Harvard medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital,” reports said.
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