You may be familiar with the term “personalized medicine.” This means that your treatment will be tailored to your genes and the nature of your disease. The information for how your cells should increase and change over time is stored in your genes. Specific genes are involved in or affected by many types of cancer.
Studying human genes and cancer genes have led to personalized cancer medicine’s development and the insights gained from these studies have contributed to developing more potent therapeutics. Additionally, they have used genetic data to create cancer diagnostic and prevention tools.
Comparatively, fewer adverse effects have been reported with personalized cancer treatment. That’s because it was made with precision in mind. Cancer cells may be harmed less by a personalized treatment plan from providers like MyCancerJourney.
Aspects Of Personalized Cancer Treatment
You and your doctor can create a unique strategy for detecting and treating cancer. This could involve:
- Determining your cancer risk and selecting the appropriate screening tests can save your life.
- Treatment is tailored to the patient and cancer. It’s possible that this would have a greater impact with less effect on the body.
- The ability to estimate the likelihood of a recurrence of cancer. The medical term for this is “recurrence risk.”
The Future Of Personalized Cancer Medicine
Cancer patients could experience fewer adverse effects from treatment thanks to advances in personalized cancer medicine. However, obstacles remain. Here are some of them:
- Unfortunately, not every form of cancer can be treated individually.
- Clinical trials are the only way to get access to personalized treatments.
- The cost of genetic testing varies. Not all insurance policies cover the cost. Moreover, there is a significant time lag between initiating gene and tumor analysis. This may cause a delay in receiving the individualized care you desire.
- Targeted treatments, one type of personalized treatment, tend to be more costly.
Examples Of Personalized Cancer Treatment
The following are some applications of personalized cancer treatments:
Cancers that rely on specific genes or proteins for their growth and survival are the ones that benefit most from targeted treatments. Every year, scientists discover novel therapeutic cancer targets. New drugs are developed and evaluated for these targets. Targeted treatments are available for some patients with the following cancers:
- Brain cancer
- Cervical cancer
- Endometrial cancer
- Head and neck cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Liver cancer
- Lung cancer
- Bladder cancer
- Breast cancer
- Colorectal cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- A gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST)
- Leukemia
- Lung cancer
- Other
The tumor-shrinking and life-saving effects of the personalized approach are superior to those of conventional treatment. However, it is not always effective. Due to the heterogeneous nature of tumors, targeted therapies targeting cells with one mutation could be effective on a subset of tumors. The surviving cells may be able to continue dividing. By discussing this method with your doctor, see if it is right for you.
For information on our cancer navigation and support services, get in touch with MyCancerJourney via this Online Form, or give us a call at 737.307.0077, and we will get back to you within the shortest possible time.
