# AI-Driven Drug Discovery: Focus on Targets for Solid Tumors

**Authors:** Jialong Wu, Jide He, Qianyang Ni, Zi’ang Li, Xiushi Lin, Zhenkun Zhao, Lei Qiu, Hongyin Wang, Sijie Li, Chengdong Shi, Yunyi Zhang, Huile Gao, Jian Lu

PMC · DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics18030329 · Pharmaceutics · 2026-03-06

## TL;DR

This paper explores how AI, especially large language models, is transforming drug discovery for solid tumors by improving target identification and addressing challenges like data integration.

## Contribution

The paper highlights recent advances in AI-driven drug discovery, particularly the use of large language models for target identification in solid tumors.

## Key findings

- AI technologies, including LLMs, are enabling comprehensive analysis of multi-omics data in drug discovery.
- AI-assisted target identification is becoming a key focus in overcoming challenges posed by solid tumor heterogeneity.
- The paper identifies challenges such as multimodal data integration and model interpretability in AI-driven approaches.

## Abstract

In the field of anti-tumor drug development, target identification remains a key component of innovative therapeutic strategies. Solid malignancies have posed significant challenges to conventional target discovery approaches due to their distinct genetic heterogeneity, complex tumor microenvironment, and highly individualized evolutionary trajectories. In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a revolutionary force in drug discovery. The technological advances from machine learning and deep learning to large language models (LLMs) has enabled the comprehensive integration and analysis of multi-omics biological data and real-world evidence, thereby promoting every stage of the drug discovery process. Thus, this article begins with an overview of the biological characteristics of tumors and the limitations of traditional strategies. It then delves into recent advances particularly in the past three years in the application of AI to drug discovery, especially LLMs. The main focus is on the current landscape of AI-assisted target identification. Furthermore, the article examines key challenges such as multimodal data integration and the interpretability of AI models, and envisions the future path towards integrated AI systems in precision oncology.

## Full-text entities

- **Diseases:** Solid Tumors (MESH:D009369)

## Full text

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## Figures

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## References

110 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC13028711/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC13028711