The Promise of Precision Medicine

All cancers are fundamentally disorders of acquired defects in genes. The genes serve as blueprints for all of the components of cells and tissues in the human body. In cancers, faulty blueprints lead to malfunctioning cells that grow uncontrollably, spread throughout the body and overwhelm normal organ functions to threaten life itself. Full realization of the benefits of comprehensive genome sequencing for precision cancer medicine will require the continuing dedication and commitment of cancer researchers, physicians, cancer patients, information technologists, commercial entities, regulators and others, all embracing the mantra of the right treatment (at the right dose) for the right patient at the right time. Read Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson’s editorial in Cancer Today, a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research.