Doctors seek help on cancer treatment from IBM supercomputer

(REUTERS) - IBM's Watson supercomputer has beaten expert Jeopardy quiz show contestants, and its predecessor defeated a world chess champion. Now, doctors hope it can help them outsmart cancer.

Oncologists at two medical groups have started to test IBM's Watson's supercomputer system in an effort to improve speed and efficacy of treatments, the company said on Friday.

The Maine Centre for Cancer Medicine and Westmed Medical Group will begin testing an application based on Watson's cognitive computing to help diagnose lung cancer and recommend treatment, IBM said.

"Access to comprehensive care can be difficult in rural areas such as southern Maine," said Dr Tracey Weisberg, medical oncology president at Maine Centre for Cancer Medicine and Blood Disorders.