Dr. Seidman on Personalized and Precision Medicine

Andrew D. Seidman, MD, a professor of medicine at the Weill Cornell Cancer Center and an attending physician at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, describes his excitement over the genetic advances made in the treatment of patients with cancer.

Researchers are beginning to untangle pathways that drive malignant behavior to a degree that thus far has not been possible, Seidman notes. Based on this enhanced understanding, it seems likely that the rationale utilization of several targeted therapeutics will take the treatment of cancer to the next level.

The application of next-generation sequencing to interrogate cancer cells has led to not only an era of personalized medicine but also precision medicine. In this regard, Seidman expects to see several early clinical trials exploring novel approaches. However, he feels, the more mature and practice changing results will likely include new uses for existing drugs and techniques.