Video games could accelerate discoveries in cancer research

More than 618,000 Americans will likely die from cancer in 2025 – a toll greater than wiping out two mid-sized California cities.

Beyond these fatalities, cancer touches nearly half of the country every year. Whether through a personal diagnosis or a loved one’s struggle, this disease has a far-reaching impact that spans generations, communities, and economic classes.

For Jeff Yoshimi, a professor of cognitive science at UC Merced, cancer became personal when his wife, Sandy, was diagnosed with breast cancer. The disease had already spread to her lymph nodes by the time doctors discovered it.

What followed was a grueling journey of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and endless medications. Sandy’s battle took an emotional toll on Yoshimi, but it also ignited something within him – a determination to contribute to the fight against cancer in a way that extended beyond his immediate circle.

Game-based learning and cancer

One night, while staying with Sandy in the hospital, Yoshimi found himself drifting in and out of sleep. His mind, shaped by years of philosophy, cognitive science, and game-based learning, began piecing together an idea.

He understood cancer as an elusive enemy, constantly mutating and taking on new forms, making it difficult for researchers to keep up.

But what if the fight against cancer didn’t just rest in the hands of scientists and medical professionals? What if millions of minds – gamers, problem solvers, and puzzle enthusiasts – could be harnessed to help in this battle?

At that moment, inspiration struck. Yoshimi left the hospital and walked across the street to an all-night coffee shop. He pulled out his laptop and started typing. That night, a new approach to fighting cancer was born.

An actionable plan: Gaming cancer

What Yoshimi envisioned was not just another research study, but a complete rethinking of how people engage with scientific problems.

He knew that video games had the power to captivate, challenge, and inspire players to solve complex problems. What if that power could be redirected toward cancer research?

Over the next eleven years, that initial spark of an idea evolved into a compelling action plan, culminating in the book Gaming Cancer, published by MIT Press.

In it, Yoshimi explores how gamified citizen science, combined with artificial intelligence, can drive significant advances in cancer research.

The book argues that with the right structure, motivation, and technological framework, gamers could help accelerate discoveries in ways never before imagined.

A mission fueled by loss

Yoshimi’s mission was deeply personal. Sandy ultimately survived her battle with breast cancer, but cancer was not done with the family.

Shortly after he began writing the book, Sandy’s sister lost her life to colon cancer. In 2023, her father succumbed to bile duct cancer. These losses reinforced Yoshimi’s conviction that more had to be done.

“Much of this book was written in cancer wards and chemo rooms,” Yoshimi writes in the first chapter – a testament to the deeply personal nature of his work.

The book’s subtitle, How Building and Playing Video Games Can Accelerate Scientific Discovery, lays out its ambitious goal. It is not just about theorizing possibilities but providing a roadmap for turning this vision into reality.

Video games can help fight cancer

Cancer research is one of the most complex scientific fields, requiring immense resources and intellectual firepower. While artificial intelligence and machine learning have made tremendous strides, they still cannot replace the intuitive and creative problem-solving abilities of the human mind.

Yoshimi argues that by breaking down complex scientific problems into structured game mechanics, citizen scientists – everyday people – could contribute to real breakthroughs in cancer research.

Gamified citizen science is not an entirely new concept. There have already been smaller-scale successes in the field.

One example is Foldit, a game where players manipulate the structure of proteins. The results from this game have helped researchers better understand how proteins fold, an essential process in cellular biology. Protein misfolding is involved in many diseases, including cancer.

By turning this challenge into an engaging game, Foldit has enabled citizen scientists to contribute to real scientific advancements.

In 2020, approximately 750,000 people played Foldit, generating valuable insights for researchers. While this number is impressive, Yoshimi envisions something far bigger.

His goal is not just niche scientific games but blockbuster hits – games on the scale of Baldur’s Gate or Candy Crush, where millions of players worldwide can contribute to cancer research in meaningful ways.

From cognitive science to gaming cancer

Yoshimi has long explored how visual tools and interactive learning can help people grasp complex ideas. In 2008, he created Simbrain, a software platform that allows users to build and explore neural networks using simplified visuals.

He has used it in his courses and research to help students understand neuroscience, psychology, and artificial intelligence.

Yoshimi’s experience with game-like simulations and problem-solving tools made him uniquely suited to develop the concept of Gaming Cancer.

During an interview, Yoshimi recalled a childhood memory that helped shape his thinking. One day, while eating at a restaurant with his father, he noticed a young boy bouncing his knee rapidly under the table.

His father, an engineer, turned to him and said, “I wonder if we could make a little generator, attach it to that knee, and capture all that energy.”

That moment stuck with Yoshimi. It was a reminder that human ingenuity is everywhere – often in unexpected places. People naturally love solving problems. It is an intrinsic part of who we are.

The challenge, Yoshimi argues, is finding ways to channel that untapped intellectual energy toward something as meaningful as cancer research.

Building the meta-game for cancer

In Gaming Cancer, Yoshimi details what would be required to bring this idea to life. The creation of a large-scale citizen science gaming platform would require a combination of skilled programmers, innovative game designers, visionary leaders, and substantial financial investment.

The games would need to be engaging, rewarding, and seamlessly linked to real-world research.

At the heart of his vision is Simbody, a proposed game engine capable of simulating biological systems at various scales – from entire organs to microscopic cellular interactions. Players would take on different challenges, solving problems in ways that could provide real insights for scientists.

Yoshimi imagines a full suite of games, which he calls Cancer Wars, covering every genre – from action and adventure to RPGs, first-person shooters, and strategy games.

Each game would tackle a different aspect of the cancer battle, such as identifying patterns in genetic mutations and optimizing treatment strategies.

AI and human ingenuity: A powerful alliance

Since Yoshimi first conceived this idea, artificial intelligence has made significant leaps, particularly with the rise of large language models like ChatGPT.

Some may wonder why human input is still necessary when AI can process massive amounts of data. Yoshimi believes that the best approach is a partnership between AI and human intelligence.

“We want to have human-AI symbiosis,” he noted. “AI can do raw number crunching and statistical generalization. Humans see the bigger picture, the relevance of one thing to another, the creative insight that a machine finds harder to capture.”

He likens this dynamic to famous sci-fi duos: Captain Picard and Data, Luke Skywalker and C-3PO, Kirk and Spock. AI can handle the brute force calculations, but humans bring intuition, creativity, and context.

Path forward in the cancer fight

Through Gaming Cancer, Yoshimi presents a roadmap for revolutionizing cancer research.

While the ultimate goal is to eradicate cancer, he emphasizes that even incremental victories – better detection, improved treatments, and increased public understanding – would be invaluable.

Cancer remains one of humanity’s deadliest adversaries, second only to heart disease in U.S. fatalities. With millions of gamers worldwide, why not mobilize that untapped potential for one of the most important fights of our time?

“It’s worth the effort,” Yoshimi said. “Even if you don’t hit the moon shot, all the intermediate shots are valuable.”

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