Personalized Medicine in Oncology

Abstract

Nowhere is the explosion in comprehensive genomic testing more evident than in oncology. Multiple consensus guidelines now recommend molecular testing as the standard of care for most metastatic tumors. To aid in the advancement of this rapidly changing field, we intend this Special Issue of JPM to focus on technical developments in the genomic profiling of cancer, detail promising somatic alterations that either are, or have a high likelihood of being, relevant in the near future, and to address issues related to the pricing and value of these tests.The last few years have seen the cost of molecular testing decrease by orders of magnitude. In 2018, we saw the first “site-agnostic” drug approvals in cancer (for microsatellite unstable cancer (PD-1 inhibitors) and NTRK-fusions (TRK inhibitors)). Research on targetable mutations, determination of genetic “signatures” that can use multiple individual genes/pathways, development of targeted therapy, and insight into the value of new technology remains at the cutting edge of research in this field. We are soliciting papers that present new technologies to assess predictive biomarkers in cancer, original research (pre-clinical or clinical) that demonstrates promise for particular targeted therapies in cancer, and articles that explore the clinical and financial impacts of this paradigmatic shift in cancer diagnostics and treatment.