Technological advances in precision medicine and drug development.
New technologies are rapidly becoming available to expand the arsenal of tools accessible for precision medicine and to support the development of new therapeutics. Advances in liquid biopsies, which analyze cells, DNA, RNA, proteins, or vesicles isolated from the blood, have gained particular interest for their uses in acquiring information reflecting the biology of tumors and metastatic tissues. Through advancements in DNA sequencing that have merged unprecedented accuracy with affordable cost, personalized treatments based on genetic variations are becoming a real possibility. Extraordinary progress has been achieved in the development of biological therapies aimed to even further advance personalized treatments. We provide a summary of current and future applications of blood based liquid biopsies and how new technologies are utilized for the development of biological therapeutic treatments. We discuss current and future sequencing methods with an emphasis on how technological advances will support the progress in the field of precision medicine.
Department of Genetics Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
Elaine
E
Maggi
Department of Genetics Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
Nicole E
NE
Patterson
Department of Genetics Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA; Department of Pathology Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
Cristina
C
Montagna
DNA methylation; biomarkers; cell free DNA; circulating tumor cells; diagnostic; drug development; extracellular vesicles; immunotherapy; precision medicine; target sequencing