Precision medicine "is an emerging field that takes into account individual variability in genes, environment, and lifestyle for each person," according to NIH.gov.
Precision medicine could result in great strides forward in the field of medicine. Many diseases may be treated through knowledge of specific genetic data underlying them. Medications could be custom-fit to be more effective for individuals with these diseases.
Gleevec is an example of a cancer drug that has few side effects and is very successful in inhibiting a mutated enzyme in one type of leukemia.
Scientists sequence many cancers' DNA to help identify particular mutation patterns that result in disease. New medications are being sought for more effective treatment through this method.
Some drugs, like Gleevec, may turn out to be suitable for yet other disease subpopulations besides the ones they were first created for.
Precision medicine may give medications a better chance of success in any clinical trials. FDA approval could be achieved more frequently and more easily.
Drug development costs, and the possibilities of failure may decrease. Precision medicine could make it easier for doctors to choose the right medication for patients.
It is hoped that precision cancer medicine will be able to successfully test a tumor for mutations of DNA that will sensitize the cancer to particular drugs.
A method called Dynamic BH3 Profiling may be effective to achieve this since it tests the specific drugs as they work on the cells of a patient's tumors, and identifies the best drugs for the job.
DBP is a lab test that can predict what medication will be most effective against a specific tumor in under 24 hours. Research from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute showed that the test can point out the best drug to dispatch tumor cells, often within 16 hours.
DBP was able to detect early indications that a cancer cell which has been treated with a medication is in the process of apoptosis. Apoptosis is a method used by the body to protect against being overrun with abnormal cells by having them destroy themselves.
Cancer cells may evade apoptosis but chemotherapy can encourage this needed cell death. The DBP test will be able to ascertain what medications or combinations do the best job in this regard.
It is now possible to test treatment with living tumor cells that have been removed or frozen leaving cells alive, on patient samples that can provide guidance for therapy.
Cancer cells were exposed to drugs that block overactive signaling pathways that would otherwise escalate out-of-control growth. When a cancer cell was being moved toward apoptosis, researchers were able to see this.
In his State of the Union address on January 20, 2015, President Obama unveiled the Precision Medicine Initiative which is expected to revolutionize medicine's treatment and prevention of disease. The initiative is expected to bring precision medicine into position in every day clinical use with the goal of revolutionizing the state of medicine.
Sources:
Precision Medicine Initiative. Retrieved Feb. 26, 2015.
http://www.nih.gov/precisionmedicine
What is Precision Medicine? Retrieved Feb. 26, 2015.
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/01/30/what-precision-medicine...
Novel precision medicine tool could help personalize cancer treatments. Retrieved Feb. 26, 2015.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-02-precision-medicine-tool-personaliz...
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Reviewed February 27, 2015
by Michele Blacksberg RN