Precision Medicine in Oncology®

Researchers at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center are personalizing treatment using tumor xenografts in mice to test and identify more precise treatments for bladder cancer patients.

The European Commission has granted a conditional marketing authorization to osimertinib for patients with locally advanced or metastatic EGFR T790M mutation-positive non–small cell lung cancer, regardless of prior treatment with EGFR TKI.

Ingrid A. Mayer, MD, co-leader and Clinical Director, Breast Cancer Research Program Chair, Data and Safety Monitoring Committee, Associate Professor of Medicine (Hematology/Oncology), medical oncologist, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, discusses the use of targeted therapies in estrogen-receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer.

Expression of the apoptosis regulator protein BIM could help predict response to PD-1 blockade in patients with melanoma.

PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibition offers the possibility for precision immuno-oncology through the application of biomarkers that predict the immune systems response. This principle has been demonstrated by two of the most recent FDA approvals for patients with lung cancer.

The identification of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 tumor suppressor genes and the recognition that inherited loss of function (deleterious) mutations in one of these important genes places women at high risk for the development of breast, ovarian, and other cancers are major advances in women’s health research.

With technological advancements in genome sequencing, researchers are now gaining a more detailed picture of the genetic drivers of cervical cancer and the important role that the human papillomavirus, responsible for the vast majority of cervical cancer cases, plays in molding the genetic profile of this disease.

Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, PhD, chief, Surgery Branch, senior investigator, head, Tumor Immunology Section, National Cancer Institute, explains advancements in adoptive cell therapy for the treatment of melanoma.

There is an objectively rational and scientifically valid alternative to evaluate N-of-1 experiences, and there is a critical need for the continued development of such approaches, which the oncology community increasingly recognizes as a necessary step to replace the established but untenable randomized clinical trial paradigm.

One of the most widely talked about trends in healthcare is precision medicine, which uses detailed genetic information about a patient’s cancer to more precisely treat the disease, effectively targeting the tumor. This heightened awareness raises an important question: are precision medicine and pathways compatible?