By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Can Thinking Younger Make You Live Longer?
    April 20, 2011
    Image
    Obesity’s Outlook Unchanged
    June 13, 2011
    When It’s An Emergency Elderly Not Treated As Well in Hospitals
    July 16, 2011
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Personalized Medicine and a Cure for Cancer
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Technology > Medical Innovations > Personalized Medicine and a Cure for Cancer
BusinessMedical InnovationsPublic HealthTechnology

Personalized Medicine and a Cure for Cancer

David Avitabile
Last updated: December 10, 2014 9:00 am
David Avitabile
Share
5 Min Read
SHARE

Doctor_and_needle

Doctor_and_needle

This week we had a double dose of news about the fight against cancer. And there is more to come, as two major medical conferences take place almost simultaneously. Leading cancer doctors, researchers and members of the life sciences community are excited about the possibilities of immunotherapy in the treatment of cancer. Immunotherapy, where the body’s own immune system is enlisted to fight cancer, is an example of the kinds of advances being made in personalized medicine.

On Sunday, CBS’s 60 Minutes aired a segment about the pioneering work being done by billionaire physician Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. The work that Dr. Soon-Shiong is doing is focused on major investments in genomic sequencing using technology to map the precise genetic mutations that cause cancer. Also, Dr. Soon-Shong is challenging the way we view cancer. Rather than classifying it according to location in the body, he believes we should be looking at specific mutations, regardless of where the tumor is located. In other words, a lung cancer tumor may respond well to a treatment typically used in pancreatic cancer, if the mutation is similar. While this approach to cancer is not unique to Dr. Soon-Shong, what is unique is the scale of his personal investment in genomic sequencing.

More Read

concierge medicine and obamacare physician shortages
Concierge Medicine Will Get Massive Boost from Obamacare
Mobile Health Around the Globe: Acquapura Tests Drinking Water Purity
More on the Longevity Project
Competition, Investment and Markets in Cell Therapy, Tissue Engineering
Are Collaborative Care Planning Teams and Technology the Key to Reducing Readmissions?

I believe that personalized medicine will eventually unlock the mysteries of cancer and lead to cancer becoming curable. The speed of progress in research and the understanding of genomics, proteomics and molecular diagnostics over the past five years alone convinces me of this. But having a better understanding of the underlying processes involved in cancer is one thing, having the treatments available to trigger the individual patient’s immune system to kill the cancer is a major challenge.

The good news is that the pharmaceutical industry is harnessing the progress being made in personalized medicine to develop highly targeted cancer treatments. On Saturday the Wall Street Journal reported from the American Society of Hematology annual meeting in San Francisco that two very promising immunotherapies, nivolumab from Bristol- Myers Squibb and Keytruda from Merck showed significant results in Hodgkin lymphoma. Both are PD-1 inhibitors, or “immune checkpoint inhibitors.” PD-1 is a protein that acts as an immune system brake. Some tumors are able to use PD-1 to evade attack by the immune system. By inhibiting PD-1, the immune system is able to attack the tumor.

In a 23-patient study of Bristol-Myers’s drug nivolumab, 87% of patients had either a partial or complete remission of their disease, and the other three had stable disease, meaning their cancer didn’t get any worse after treatment. The study of Keytruda, which is already approved for certain melanoma patients, found that 19 of 29 patients, or 66% had a partial or complete remission of their disease while disease in six other patients remained stable.

These are two small studies, and larger trials will need to be conducted to confirm these results. But what is interesting is that both studies demonstrate the power of personalized medicine. These kinds of response rates were almost unheard of in the days before diagnostics and personalized medicine became an integral part of drug development. And this is a key reason why the genomics, proteomics, and the molecular diagnostics markets are experiencing significant growth.

The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium starts today, and I’m excited to be attending this year’s event with some clients. I’m sure we’ll see more exciting news coming from that conference.

I’ve said it before, but it deserves to be repeated. This is an exciting time to be working in life sciences. I believe that technology, including computing technology, cloud technologies and Big Data analytics, is driving enormous progress. Pharmaceutical companies, diagnostics companies and the medical community have better tools available than ever before, and I believe these technologies will ultimately enable us to unlock some of our greatest healthcare challenges, including finding a cure for cancer.

TAGGED:cancerpersonalized medicine
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Health
May 15, 2025
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction heart treatment
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction
Cardiology
May 13, 2025

You Might also Like

price of medical care
BusinessPolicy & LawPublic Health

Leave No Patient on the Battlefield

June 12, 2014

Walter Reed Hospital Closes

August 29, 2011
ebola hysteria
Public Health

Ebola Hysteria in Ohio

November 7, 2014

The Absolute Case for Relative Value Units

November 25, 2013
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?