Precision Medicine in Oncology®

It is essential to appreciate that precision cancer medicine is a process, not an event.

Thanks to technological advances, the past several decades have witnessed a blossoming appreciation of the varied composition of these microbial communities, their complex and dynamic relationship with the host, and the way they affect health and disease.

Massimo Cristofanilli, MD, discusses the clinical utility of liquid biopsies—specifically focusing on circulating tumor cells and cell-free DNA—and highlights ongoing research in the space.

Geoffrey R. Oxnard, MD, discusses the use of cell-free DNA as a potential method of cancer detection and subsequent assessment of treatment response in patients with solid and hematologic malignancies.

John Strickler, MD, discusses how liquid biopsies are being used to help guide treatment decisions for patients with GI cancers and shed light on other research efforts that are being made to improve outcomes.

The Lung Cancer Master Protocol, known as the first precision medicine trial in lung cancer supported by the National Cancer Institute, has expanded to include patients with all types of non–small cell lung cancers.

Joseph A. Sparano, MD, associate director for clinical research, Albert Einstein Cancer Center, Montefiore Medical Center, discusses ways to improve the clinical utility of liquid biopsies in the treatment of patients with breast cancer.

Since the Warburg effect has been observed in the majority of cancer types, many studies have focused on developing therapies that target metabolic pathways.