Sir William Osler wittily compared the development of personalized medicine to an art form, saying that medicine would truly be a science if all humans had the same genetic makeup (Theodorescu, 24). One can easily imagine how each human started as a blank canvas and over time developed additional brushstrokes from factors such as genetic crossovers and mutations, making everyone a unique piece of art. Because no two individuals are exactly the same, there is a need for individualized treatment when people are ill, which is where personalized medicine takes on a role. Personalized medicine is a relatively new area of drug development that emerged in popularity after the sequencing of the human genome in 2003; it concentrates on getting “the right drug to the right patient, at the right time” (Deakin, 14). However, personalized medicine can be noted in past medical cases when physicians required extensive information on family histories before treating patients. While, this cannot be compared to modern personalized medicine techniques, it was an early step in exploring benefits of personalized medicine (Theodorescu, 24).
Today one of the principal areas for the application of personalized medicine is oncology; cancer cases have provided an excellent channel to investigate the abilities of personalized medicine techniques (Gilbert, 18). Conventional cancer management included “treating according to the organ or tissue in which the cancer originates” (Van’t Veer, 564). Personalized medicine involves the use of biomarkers to classify patients, and unlike conventional treatments, these biomarkers may suggest that the patient would benefit best by having no treatment at all. These biomarkers and genetic tests provide healthcare profes...
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...aitland, Michael. “Clinical trials in the era of personalized oncology.” A Cancer Journal for clinician 10.3322 (2011): 1-17. Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Nov 2011.
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• NCI Features: Towards Personalized Cancer Care. 2009. National Cancer Institute.11 Nov 2011
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The concept of tumor heterogeneity being related to the course of the disease and clinical outcome in cancer patients draws additional attention in the era of personalized medicine (1). Current cancer treatment strategies are based on the site of origin of the primary tumor. However, it was shown that tumors developed from distinct cell types differ in their prognosis and response to cytotoxic therapies (2...
Women who inherit a mutation in one copy of BRCA1 or BRCA2 are at high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers6. This could be due to the disruption in the pathway of BRCA proteins in the cell nucleus. If BRCA1 is defective, it loses its ability to fix damaged DNA and causes tumor. It is because once the defective BRCA1 raises, it allows the cells to develop and divide uncontrollably. Since defective in BRCA1 causes cancers, it is important to understanding the function of the protein by analyzing its sequence and structure.
Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22441230.
Collier Roger, A race-based detour to personalized medicine, CMAJ. April 17, 2012 vol. 184 no. 7, p E351–E353.
Kellermann, A., & Peleg, K. (2013, May 29). The New England journal of medicine. Retrieved from http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1305304
Schulman, Joshua M., and David E. Fisher. "Abstract." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 28 Aug. 0005. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
By using identified gene mutations that are known to cause diseases, asymptomatic individuals are able to discover if they are at risk for specific genetic conditions; this is known as genetic testing. Unfortunately, genetic testing can vary in its predictive ability. For example, Huntington disease, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Fragile X syndrome and multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 are conditions that can be determined by genetic testing (Samen, 1996). In contrast, for multifaceted diseases like Alzheimer’s, breast and ovarian cancer and colorectal cancer, predisposition can be determined with genetic testing. However, an absolute diagnosis of those diseases cannot be made (Heshka et al., 2008).
A mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene is associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer
Jose Baselga, a lead Physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York said, “The next 10 years are expected to usher in unprecedented advances in oncology, including molecularly driven diagnostic and therapeutic developments, whole genome sequencing that results in true precision-based medicine, survivorship care plans that address long-term quality of life concerns, and team-based, cross-disciplinary approaches to research.”(Advances in Medical). This educated guess by Dr. Baselga can lead us to believe that our education about cancer grows with every new account and new procedure that we complete. In the next decade, our understanding of Oncology will be revolutionized in the hope that it will bring us closer to our intended goal of defeating this monstrous disease. Oncology is a flourishing field that is and will be in high demand in the 21st Century because when a problem has been confirmed to be present the human task force will go to various lengths in order to find a solution. Now that Oncology has found a way to presently deal with cancer such as chemotherapy, addressing long term effects of those solutions will be an area that will be focused on as Oncology takes steps forwards towards a cure. Another concentration in Oncology that will develop in the next 10 years will be the prevention of
Ed. Kathleen Daniel et al. Austin, TX: Holt, 2003. 282-86. The. Print.
The BRCA1 gene is on chromosome 17. BRCA2 is located on chromosome 13. A woman who inherits a mutation in either of these two genes has an increased risk of both breast and ovarian cancer. That is, the same genetic change results in an increased risk of these two cancers. In some families there is also an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, melanoma, and other cancers, but the risk of these cancers if far lower than the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.1-2
Segal, E. A., Cimino, A. N., Gerdes, K. E., Harmon, J. K., & Wagaman, M. (2013). A
The age of genetic technology has arrived. Thanks to genetic technological advancements, medical practitioners, with the help of genetic profiling, will be able to better diagnose patients and design individual tailored treatments; doctors will be able to discern which medications and treatments will be most beneficial and produce the fewest adverse side effects. Rationally designed vaccines have been created to provide optimal protection against infections. Food scientists have hopes of genetically altering crops to increase food production, and therefore mitigate global hunger. Law enforcement officers find that their job is made easier through the advancement of forensics; forensics is yet another contribution of genetic technology. Doctors have the ability to identify “high-risk” babies before they are born, which enables them to be better prepared in the delivery room. Additionally, oncologists are able to improve survival rates of cancer patients by administering genetically engineered changes in malignant tumors; these changes result in an increased immune response by the individual. With more than fifty years of research, and billions of dollars, scientists have uncovered methods to improve and prolong human life and the possibilities offered by gene therapy and genetic technology are increasing daily.
The American Cancer Society publishes current advances made in cancer research on their website. Many of the exciting discoveries about how best to treat the disease focus on the genetic aspects associated with certain types of cancer. In addition, treatments aimed at genetic solutions to cancer may be more effective and may cause fewer adverse side effects than traditional cancer treatments (American Can...
The Web. The Web. 22 Apr. 2014. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1119564/>.