Story of Duke University - The Sad Case of Flawed Data Published in Medical Journals That Was Declared Inaccurate 60 Minutes –Attack of the Killer Algorithms Chapter 15

“We have to make this work” were the words I heard here and were the genomics and the queries mis matched? If you watch the video it appears so as data sets are discussed and the results given from them when processed with a set of algorithms to query for solutions. For this to take place they are working with “Huge” data sets and “Huge” amounts of information to analyze and this is complicated. In the summer of 2010, The Cancer Letter reported that Potti had padded his resumé and claimed he was a Rhodes scholar when he wasn't. The FDA came in to audit as well.

FDA Audits Halted Duke University Clinical Trials Data Related to Genetic Cancer Predictors-A “Padded” Resume of Experience That Did Not Exist

“The Duke genomics center run by a prominent cancer researcher, Joseph Nevins, has been disbanded, although a Duke spokesperson says that decision was already in the works and is unrelated to the FDA audit.”

Today everyone has audit tables and when working with data, you want these so you can go back and retrace. What was disturbing to me in listening is the fact that the story states they reversed the algorithms and then the “sold” theories were not true. Smart people get around and manipulate data and they do it for money. We see this in the financial areas all the time and why I started by series called The Attack of the Killer Algorithms and this is Chapter 15 where the math really was a killer for people who were hoping to find the right treatment for their cancer.

To tell you the truth, I would love to stop writing this series and see some real interest here with getting the right math and data formulas verified and folks held accountable. As I have said before there are those algorithms created for “desired” results and those created for “accurate” results and they should be the same, and if you watched this video then you know different.

I did an interview a couple years ago for Proto Magazine with one of their contracted journalists who really prodded me for some of my opinions on this matter and she and I were both ahead of our time as the article did not get published as we spoke and discussed. We talked about the dark side a bit and that never came to light in what was in the magazine.

Again what is so sad here is the hopes that the patients had with any potential cure and treatment with being matched with the “right” medication which was not true.

Good Science, Investments and The Chase for Social Algorithms Has Become a Dangerous Mix-Healthcare and The Creation of Jobs Continue to Suffer

“It is a technological arms race in financial markets and the regulators are a bit caught unaware of how quickly the technology has evolved” “There is already “a mini-gold rush” of companies trying to market tests based on the new techniques, at a time when good science has not caught up with the financial push. “That’s the scariest part of all,” Dr. Ramsey said.

Doctors rely on journals and there have been quite a few stories on false journal publications and the doctors and the patients are the ones on the line relying on this information for authenticity for treatments and when you see bad science and efforts maybe with a higher financial directive, well you get the picture as t what happens and gets diluted. Below are a couple other Killer Algorithm posts and a summary of earlier chapters can be read here…Killer Algorithms Chapters 1 –12