How the evidence works
What Beacon is grounded in, and what it will never do.
A plain account of where the answers come from, how new evidence is handled, what gets left out on purpose, and what happens to what you share.
Where the answers come from
Built on Together4Cancer’s proprietary oncology knowledge base.
Search engines and general-purpose AI can draw on millions of pages. Beacon works from a defined oncology knowledge base built specifically for cancer care. Evidence is organized with clinical context, including cancer type, biomarkers, treatment setting, topic, patient population and date, so what Beacon retrieves can be matched to your situation rather than cancer in general.
Clinical guidelines
Current versions of major oncology guidelines and consensus recommendations, maintained with publication and version information so Beacon can use the most relevant guidance available.
Regulatory information
Approved prescribing information and regulatory sources for cancer therapies, including the populations, indications and treatment settings in which a therapy is approved.
Peer-reviewed oncology literature
A continuously refreshed feed of published oncology studies, stored with details such as publication date and studied population so findings can be interpreted in the right clinical context.
Sources alone don’t make a guide.
Beacon adds a prioritization layer on top of retrieval.
It is designed to distinguish between information that is simply related to your diagnosis and information that may matter for the decision in front of you, helping surface what is known, what may still be missing, what remains unresolved, and what may be worth asking your care team next.
The language your medical team recognizes.
Beacon turns that information into clear, specific questions using the clinical concepts your care team will recognize, while keeping the explanation understandable to you. You don’t have to learn the language of oncology. Beacon helps you bridge it.
How it stays current
New is not the same as practice-changing.
Cancer research changes constantly. A newly published study does not automatically mean the standard of care has changed, or that its findings apply to you.
New evidence passes an editorial gate before it can change what Beacon surfaces: does it change a decision today, does it apply beyond a narrow subgroup, and is it reflected in guidelines, regulatory action or credible clinical adoption. The action it leads to is always a question for your care team, never a treatment choice.
Evidence that does not yet pass that gate is parked, not discarded, and revisited as the evidence matures, for example after a confirmatory trial, regulatory action or guideline update.
Beacon also distinguishes between different levels of evidence, so a promising new study is not presented as though it carries the same weight as an established standard of care.
Established standard
Long-standing standard of care.
“Guidelines recommend.”
Guideline supported
Included in current guidelines as an option for an appropriate population or setting.
“Guidelines include this as an option to discuss.”
Emerging
Credible evidence, not yet established practice.
“There is emerging evidence here. Is it relevant to me?”
Clinical uncertainty
Credible experts may reasonably approach the issue differently.
“How do you think about this in my case?”
The goal is not to turn new evidence into a treatment recommendation. It is to help you know when something may be worth asking about.
What it will never do
Built so you and your oncologist can decide together. Collaboration, not confrontation.
It does not diagnose or recommend treatment.
Beacon prepares you for the conversation. Diagnosis, treatment recommendations and clinical decisions belong to you and your care team.
It does not steer you toward a drug.
When legitimate options exist, Beacon can lay them out without choosing one for you, along with the questions that may help distinguish between them.
It does not pretend certainty where there isn’t any.
Cancer evidence can be incomplete, evolving or highly dependent on the details of one person’s situation. Like any AI system, Beacon can be wrong. That is why its role is to help you identify what to clarify and what to ask, with the reason behind each question, rather than give you conclusions to act on without your care team.
What happens to what you share
Yours, encrypted, never used for training, never sold.
Full details are in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
- Encrypted in transit and at rest.
- Your conversations, uploads and documents are encrypted, and your account is tied to you. No other user can see them.
- Never used for training. Never sold.
- Your medical records and Beacon conversations are not used to train Beacon or any AI model, and your individual data is never sold.
- Remembered for you, not for anyone else.
- Beacon keeps your case so each conversation can build on the last. Documents you generate are yours to download and keep.
Shruti Agarwal, PhD. Together4Cancer’s evidence system is curated by a scientist and oncology industry leader with 24+ years spanning cancer research, medical affairs and drug commercialization, and personal experience navigating cancer as a caregiver.
Grounded evidence. Your situation. Your questions.
Everything above is turned into practical preparation for your appointments, for 90 days.
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Important: The Together4Cancer® Beacon is an educational tool. It is not a medical device, does not provide medical advice, and is not a substitute for the judgment of a licensed oncologist or care team. AI-generated content can contain errors. Always discuss any guidance from this tool with your physicians before making clinical decisions.