title: Towards Precision Medicine in the Clinic: From Biomarker Discovery to Novel Therapeutics.
abstract: Precision medicine continues to be the benchmark to which we strive in cancer research. Seeking out actionable aberrations that can be selectively targeted by drug compounds promises to optimize treatment efficacy and minimize toxicity. Utilizing these different targeted agents in combination or in sequence may further delay resistance to treatments and prolong antitumor responses. Remarkable progress in the field of immunotherapy adds another layer of complexity to the management of cancer patients. Corresponding advances in companion biomarker development, novel methods of serial tumor assessments, and innovative trial designs act synergistically to further precision medicine. Ongoing hurdles such as clonal evolution, intra- and intertumor heterogeneity, and varied mechanisms of drug resistance continue to be challenges to overcome. Large-scale data-sharing and collaborative networks using next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms promise to take us further into the cancer 'ome' than ever before, with the goal of achieving successful precision medicine.
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden Hospital, Downs Road, London SM2 5PT, UK.
authors.forename: Dearbhaile C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden Hospital, Downs Road, London SM2 5PT, UK.
authors.forename: Raghav
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sundar
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden Hospital, Downs Road, London SM2 5PT, UK.
authors.forename: Joline S J
authors.initials: JSJ
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden Hospital, Downs Road, London SM2 5PT, UK. Electronic address: timothy.yap@icr.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Timothy A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Yap
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D001706:Biopsy; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D057285:Precision Medicine
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor
keywords: biomarker; next-generation sequencing; omics technology; oncology; precision medicine; theranostics