Company decodes cancers to target treatment
November 3, 2011
Foundation Medicine has developed a diagnostic test for cancer that reads the genome sequence of hundreds of cancer-linked genes. The results help oncologists pick the best drugs for that patient. (Credit: Foundation Medicine)
Foundation Medicine has developed a diagnostic test to read the entire sequence of hundreds of cancer-linked genes, at the forefront of a growing trend in cancer: choosing drugs based on the genetic profile of a patient’s tumor cells.
A number of pharmaceutical companies are using the test in clinical trials of new drugs and to direct patients into specific studies of drugs designed to target different mutations. And if researchers collect multiple tumor samples from the same patient over time, they can use the test to understand how the tumor evolves and try to predict why one person’s tumor might recur more quickly than another’s.
Comments (2)
by gospacyoungmn
This is among many breakthroughs in disease and cancer research. It could help save lots of lives; but then, I wonder which new breakthroughs will ever get to the general public. Will the rich and powerful be the the first or only recipients.
Furthermore, I’ve also read about new breakthrough in medical research to slow down age-related disorders…like cancer. This kind of research is the real solution to prevent diseases and cancer in the first place. But which of the two kinds of advances will win out in the short run, the one that makes the most money, or the one that finally solves the problem for good.
by Heikos
I’m no expert, but here’s what it think:
As said by many: New treatment will, at first, be very expensive and low in quality. This will rapidly evolve into affordable and then cheap treatments of much better quality. In other words: first available to the rich, then for everyone.
I’m as stumped as you are by your second question. I guess it depends on ‘who’ discovers the cure and ‘what kind’ of cure/treatment is found.
The people that are in the position to decide, will choose between money and ethics. Which they choose, depends on their sense of morality and their amount of greed.
If some discovery is made that can only applicated in long-term treatment, then there’s not much choice. If a real cure is found, you can bet that it will be expensive.