2024-03-01 03:10:52
In recent years, precision medicine has gained relevance in health treatments. With this method, it is possible to take into account aspects such as lifestyle, genes, environment, among others, to personalize the treatment.
The specialists at the Clínica Las Condes Cancer Center, mainly Dr. Suraj Samtani, explained that “precision medicine has revolutionized cancer treatments. Previously, treatments were based according to the origin of the tumor and according to the organ from which they arise. For example, breast cancer, lung cancer or ovarian cancer, but today we know that, if we put ten lung cancer patients, those ten patients will have characteristics that make them different and that they can receive personalized and directed treatments between them.”
In this sense, he explained that one of the main evolutions of cancer patients has been to establish therapeutic decisions in a personalized way, this means based on the molecular characteristics of each patient’s tumor. “This is what is called precision medicine, which allows a percentage of patients with different tumors to receive targeted and personalized treatments for these molecular or genomic alterations that cause tumor development, which have greater specificity, therefore , greater efficacy and less toxicity compared to traditional treatments,” he added.
In simpler words, the experts pointed out that precision medicine consists of a study of the mutations that the tumor presents. A biopsy is performed on the damaged tissue or today there are platforms that can measure these molecular alterations in the blood.
“In Chile this tool does exist and at Clínica Las Condes we also have the sequencing study in certain tumors that allows us to provide targeted and personalized treatment,” they commented. However, it is not an easy treatment, since it is a necessary challenge if we want to be at the forefront of research and requires national strategic plans that promote its implementation to avoid diagnostic and therapeutic inequities in the national territory.
“Certain strategies must be discussed at the national level so that hopefully all patients, both in the public and private sectors, can access this information. It is key to have this before starting any treatment, since we can find highly effective treatments and avoid treatments with greater toxicity for the patient,” they concluded.
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