Individualized Cancer Treatments: New Innovations In Oncology

When you are sitting down for the first time with your oncologist at a place like Southwest Oncology Centers, you may be at a total loss. After all, a cancer diagnosis is a shock to the system to be sure, and it takes you a while to process. However, for cancer treatments to be most successful, time to process is a luxury you do not have. Oncology depends on the rapid infusion of medications into the system to stop and reverse the growth of the cancer cells. You may think that all cancer treatments are created equal and that treatment is standard across the board. But, new innovations in oncology are beginning to allow doctors and pharmacists to develop individualized cancer treatments. So, learn about these new innovations and how the may affect your cancer treatments.

Cancer Genome Sequencing

One of the newest and most promising innovations in cancer treatments is the use of genome mapping and sequencing. If doctors are able to determine the exact genetic composition of the cancer cells in your body, they can customize the medications they use to treat and target those cancer cells.

What genome sequencing does is to identify the DNA and RNA mutations that caused the cancer cells to grow in the first place. Knowing this will help doctors avoid using medications in treatment that your tumors are genetically resistant to. This eliminates treatments that would be ineffective and would allow cancer cells to continue growing in the meantime.

Treatment Based On Your Genes

In addition to specifically mapping and sequencing your cancer cells' genetic composition, your healthy genes and cells can give a good indication of what treatments will work best for you. The theory behind this is that your individual genetic makeup influences and ultimately determines how you will react to medications and treatments.

In fact, your genetics and medical history can actually determine whether a course of cancer treatment is even safe for you to undergo. This study of your genetics and drug interactions falls under the realm of what is known as pharmacogenomics. In other words the study of genetics and pharmacology. 

Thus, two of the best ways to individualize your cancer treatments are through genome sequencing, both of the cancer cells and of your healthy cells. These genetic tests are not available yet for all types of cancer and can be costly for both you and your physician. However, because these genome sequencing techniques are being shown to be so effective, they are likely to become more readily available in the near future. So, keep these possible individualization techniques in mind when you undergo your cancer treatments. 


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