Dear Colleague,
This generation has witnessed amazing advances in the realm of precision medicine. It has learned that making personalized medicine a reality takes forward movement on many fronts—from basic research to novel drugs, from clinical trials to policy. Within our pages, we strive to present the full range of topics affecting our ability to provide the most personalized care to oncology patients today.
We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dr Douglas R. Lowy, Acting Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), about the recent announcement from the White House calling for a “moonshot” to cure cancer. This influx of funds will allow the NCI to continue its progress in a number of areas to include the NCI-MATCH trial. A complex trial aimed to treat based on genetic mutation as opposed to tissue of origin. Our insightful exchange is the focus of the Interview with the Innovators feature in this issue.
We are proud to present a submission from Drs Jain, Pai, Santa-Maria, and Gradishar of Northwestern University about the state of personalized medicine in breast cancer and the biomarkers that help direct therapy.
In keeping with the theme of breast cancer, we feature a paper in our genetic counseling department from editorial board member and regular column contributor, Cristi Radford, MS, CGC, about RECQL and breast cancer risk.
Colorectal cancer is historically a difficult disease to treat, especially in the advanced stage. In the hope of offering new information to consider for patients fighting this disease, we present a look at immunotherapeutic approaches in colorectal cancer, specifically checkpoint inhibition.
Is there a topic you’d like to see offered in Personalized Medicine in Oncology? Do you have an intriguing case study to share? Please contact us at editorial@personalizedmedonc.com.
Sincerely,
Al B. Benson III, MD, FACP, FASCO
Coeditor in Chief
Personalized Medicine in Oncology