Smarter Cancer Staging: Using ML to Infer Stage
doneProblem
Can gene expression data alone provide enough signal to distinguish early vs late stage before full imaging/pathology completion?
What I Built
A constrained ML pipeline trained on public RNA-seq datasets with explicit exclusion of staging inputs to isolate pure molecular signal.
Methods / Stack
Python, Pandas, ML classification workflow, independent cohort validation, low-power inference demonstration.
Key Contribution
Not “max accuracy,” but quantifying the biological ceiling of gene-expression-only staging and compressing usable signal into smaller practical panels.
Outcome
Demonstrated limited but consistent stage-related signal suitable for early triage support. Awarded BSA CREST Gold and presented in YSTE 2026 context.