Enabling Personalized Medicine
Personalized medicine is the shift from providing standards of care based on what works well for the typical person, to providing a tailored treatment based on patient specific information often derived from the results of laboratory tests.
Personalized medicine uses new methods of molecular analysis to better manage a patient’s disease or predisposition toward a disease. This may include genetic screening programs that more precisely diagnose diseases and their sub-types, or help physicians select the type and dose of medication best suited to a certain group of patients. Physicians now routinely incorporate genetic testing into the monitoring of treatment through the use of biomarkers to monitor cancer progression.
Diagnostic testing must be performed to identify a patient’s suitability for specific treatments. These diagnostic tests are often referred to as companion diagnostics, as they complement the use of a therapeutic. Use of companion diagnostics has become common, particularly in oncology where a number of therapeutic drugs have been developed to target specific molecules.