Precision medicine in oncology – On a journey from dreams to reality

Abstract

Precision medicine is defined as treatments targeted to the needs of individual patients on the basis of genetic, biomarker, phenotypic, or psychosocial characteristics that distinguish a given patient from another patient with similar clinical presentation. Precision Oncology is an innovation at the cusp of blooming. We reviewed the status of precision oncology today, and discuss the flaws, mainly in next-generation sequencing (NGS) and the design of clinical trials thus far. Precision oncology although paints a glossy imagery, the reality is laden with inherent flaws, lack of guided research and a generalisability for the clinical market. The scenario in India is similar. It remains to be seen, if Precision Oncology is able to withstand the scrutiny likely to come its way, and if it can appeal largely to a complex socioeconomic market as India. We conclude that precision oncology is not far from an exponential boom, provided the right questions are asked, and answers derived.