War and peace? The oncologic and the palliative care perspective on personalized cancer treatment in a patient with advanced cancer

Abstract

Personalized cancer treatment utilizing targeted therapies in a tailored approach is based on tumor and/or patient-specific molecular profiles. Recent clinical trials continue to look for new potential targets in heavily pretreated patients or rare disease entities. Careful selection of patients who may derive benefit from such therapies constitutes a challenge. This case report presents an experimental personalized cancer treatment in an advanced cancer patient and provides a list of issues for discussion: How can we combine treatment goals and simultaneously meet the individual needs in advanced cancer reconciling both perspectives: oncology and palliative care?