What Is Lung Cancer?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines lung cancer as a type of cancer that begins in the lungs. It is one of the most common and deadly types of cancer worldwide. Lung cancer occurs when abnormal cells grow uncontrollably in the lung tissues, forming a tumor. Over time, these cancer cells can invade nearby tissues and spread to other parts of the body through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. Smoking tobacco is attributed as the leading cause of lung cancers reported worldwide. In addition, second-hand smoke and various environmental and occupational factors also contribute significantly to the increase in the number of lung cancer cases.
What Is Precision Medicine?
Precision medicine, also known as personalized medicine or customized medicine, is a method of providing healthcare that bases medical choices and treatments on an individual's particular traits, such as genetic makeup, lifestyle, environment, and personal health history. Instead of using a generalized approach, it seeks to customize medical care to each patient's unique requirements and features. Precision medicine uses the latest advances to collect data on a person's genes, proteins, and other biomarkers, such as genetic testing and molecular profiling. This data can assist medical professionals in identifying genetic mutations, variances, or specific biomarkers that could increase a person's chance of contracting a given disease or affect how they react to a certain therapy.
Precision medicine enables more precise diagnoses, targeted therapies, and individualized treatment regimens by comprehending the genetic and molecular variables underlying a person's medical condition. It can assist medical professionals in selecting drugs that have the best chance of working, spotting potential side effects, and adjusting doses for better results.
What Is the Importance of Precision Medicine in Lung Cancer Therapy?
Precision medicine is of utmost importance in lung cancer therapy due to several key reasons:
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Targeted Treatments: Precision medicine identifies specific genetic mutations or molecular characteristics in lung cancer cells, allowing for targeted therapies that inhibit the activity of these mutations.
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Personalized Approach: Precision medicine develops individualized treatment regimens for patients by examining their particular genetic and molecular traits. This method leads to better results and higher survival rates.
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Early Detection and Prevention: Genetic testing identifies those who are most likely to acquire lung cancer, allowing for early identification and preventive measures that improve treatment results.
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Combating Drug Resistance: Understanding the processes of drug resistance through precision medicine enables the creation of alternative treatment plans or adjustments to current medicines.
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Reduced Side Effects: Precision medicine lowers the risk of adverse effects by eliminating needless therapies and enhancing the quality of life for lung cancer patients.
What Are the Advances in Precision Medicine for Lung Cancer Patients?
Precision medicine in the context of lung cancer involves the comprehensive analysis of various patient data, including genetic, molecular, and clinical information, using big data analysis techniques. This approach aims to identify specific therapeutic targets and treatments that are most suitable for individual lung cancer patients. To improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying lung cancer, further exploration of driver genes is necessary. The various approaches in precision medicine are as listed:
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Immunotherapy Predictive Markers: Tumor immunotherapy in lung cancer relies on checkpoint inhibitors like CTLA4, PD-1, and PD-L1 inhibitors. These inhibitors have shown promising clinical effects in various tumors, but there are still challenges in selecting the right immunotherapy drugs and predictive markers for assessing treatment efficacy. PD-L1 expression is a commonly used predictive marker, but it is not definitive as some PD-L1-negative patients still respond to immunotherapy while some PD-L1-positive patients do not.
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Liquid Biopsy: Because tumors are heterogeneous, it might be difficult to get all the necessary data from a single biopsy. It is practically hard to sample every tumor tissue in the body, though. Liquid biopsy technology has evolved as a non-invasive method to detect cancer and track the development of the illness in order to overcome these constraints. Detecting circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), exosomes, and other biomarkers in blood or other body fluids is known as a liquid biopsy. Compared to standard tissue biopsy, liquid biopsy has benefits that lower the risk involved with invasive treatments. The liquid biopsy technique has great potential for cancer diagnosis and monitoring, but further research and standardization are required to improve its precision and efficacy.
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Patient-Based Xenograft Models: Creating patient-derived xenograft (PDX) tumor models is a useful tool for analyzing the behavior of tumors and evaluating the effectiveness of treatment. These models may be applied to drug screening platforms to track and assess the outcomes of various medications, assisting in the development of individualized treatment plans. In addition to tissue samples, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) or tumor cells isolated from malignant pleural effusions can also be used to create PDX models. Hence, the PDX model has a lot of potential for predicting lung cancer treatment results and prognosis when combined with cutting-edge biomedical technology.
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) Approaches: The advancement of tailored cancer treatment for patients has been made possible by the use of AI technology in tumor precision therapy. Early lung cancer screening can benefit from AI, which increases efficiency and accuracy. It has demonstrated potential in pathology and imaging diagnostics, allowing for improved lung cancer detection. AI technology can also evaluate a patient's reaction to therapy and forecast outcomes, including prognosis, metastasis, and recurrence. AI is widely used in surgery, particularly robotic-assisted treatments like those performed with the da Vinci robot, which allows for quick and less invasive operations. The use of virtual reality technology in nursing, rehabilitation, and treatment planning has a substantial impact on decision-making and rehabilitation.
Conclusion:
The discipline of oncology has undergone a revolution due to developments in precision medicine for patients with lung cancer. Through the use of a tailored strategy, treatment results, survival rates, and side effects have all improved. Additionally, precision medicine is essential for lung cancer early diagnosis, prevention, and treatment resistance management. Precision medicine has significant potential to further strengthen the efficiency and individualization of lung cancer therapy as science and technology develop, eventually improving the lives of people facing this fatal illness.
