The use of advanced genetic diagnostic tests in the fight against cancer makes it possible to detect a range of biomarkers that reveal important information about the disease. This enables patients to benefit from personalized medicine across many areas, including the prevention, early diagnosis, course and targeted treatment of cancer.
By evaluating genomic tests, it becomes possible to improve treatment outcomes and reduce side effects, to identify in advance treatment attempts that would not benefit the patient or that may develop resistance, and to guide the patient toward the most appropriate treatment options. Even before any treatment is administered, likely outcomes can be anticipated, and treatment alternatives that were not part of the initial plan can be reconsidered in light of genomic testing. In addition, by matching suitable patient profiles with studies still at the clinical stage, patients may gain access to treatment options that are not yet in widespread use.
Genomic tests also allow hereditary cancer biomarkers to be assessed, so that not only the patient who presents but, where needed, their family members can be screened with appropriate methods. This is of vital importance for family members in whom cancer has not yet appeared, making it possible to monitor and prevent potential cancer cases that have not yet progressed and that cannot be detected by other conventional methods.
In the era of personalized medicine, genomic testing used to select the most appropriate treatment for each individual should become a gold standard in oncology. However, although the benefits of genomic testing are demonstrated by increasingly strong evidence with each passing day, its use has unfortunately not yet become as widespread as it should be.
Because many cancer patients cannot access appropriate genetic testing, and because a large proportion of the minority who do gain access still cannot receive the targeted treatment suited to them, leading representatives of the healthcare sector recently held a meeting to once again underline the importance of using genomic testing more effectively in the fight against cancer.
The meeting emphasized that healthcare professionals involved in the fight against cancer should be people who follow the agenda of the rapidly advancing field of personalized medicine, who can obtain and interpret genomic test results accurately, consistently and effectively, who take evidence-based and defensible data into account when making clinical decisions, who provide access to targeted treatments, and who guide patients accordingly.