Introduction:
Since the start of recorded history, medical service professionals are striving to add value to their activities to help their patients by experimenting with a range of treatments, analyzing and sharing the outcomes and improvising upon the endeavour of the past generations. Getting more precise, accurate, impactful and proactive for every person that comes to use clinical care continues to be one of the goals of all clinicians, irrespective of how fundamental the tools and techniques are at their disposal. However, online assignment help UK and these days, modern scientists and physicians are capable of taking this vision far beyond the experiments of their ancestors based on technologies such as genetic testing, big data analytics, electronic health records, supercomputing and so on- all the needful aspects to involve in which quickly is getting truly personalized and precise medicine.
The concept of precision medicine:
Precision medicine is also termed personalised medicine which is an approach to clinical care that takes into consideration the unique environmental, lifestyle and genetic factors of the individual patients during diagnosing as well as treating different types of complex and critical diseases among them (Haendel, Chute & Robinson, 2018). Additionally, it acknowledges that the response to treatment, disease risk and complete health outcomes of each person, get influenced by a variety of factors and hence tailors clinical interventions in order to suit the specific requirements of every patient (Hulsen et al.2019). However, dissertation writing help UK and precision medicine is a type of medicine that employs information in relation to the protein or genes of an individual person aiming at preventing, diagnosing and treating diseases accurately and successfully (Hampel et al.2020). For instance, in cancer patients, precision medicine applies particular details relating to the tumour of the patients for helping in making a diagnosis, planning treatment, finding out the progress of the treatment provided to the patients or making a prognosis (Fujiwara et al.2018). The common examples of precision medicine are the application of tumour maker testing for helping in diagnosing cancer or the application of targeted therapies for treating particular types of cancerous cells like HER2-positive breast cancer calls. The aim of precision medicine is to target the appropriate treatments to the right patients at the right time (König et al.2017).
The key idea behind advanced precision medicine is to switch from a one-size-fits-all concept of medical care and rather deliver precise and targeted treatments that would be most likely to be successful and effective (Pauli et al.2017). By taking account into the genetic makeup of patients besides the other relevant details such as their lifestyle choices and medical background, healthcare practitioners are capable of acquiring an in-depth insight into the underlying mechanisms associated with disease, thereby making data-driven decisions relating to the treatment options (Llovet et al.2018). Technical advancement as well as innovation in genetic research are the critical components in enabling precision medicine (Hampel et al.2020). Then again, the capability of evaluating the genetic information of an individual has allowed for the detection of specific variations in genes which would contribute to the susceptibility of diseases, response to treatment or adverse effects of the medications resulting in helping the clinicians choose the right therapies as well as dosage regimens that are tailored to the genetic profile of an individual (Haendel, Chute & Robinson, 2018).
Precision medicine gets the potential of adding value to patient outcomes by optimising the safety as well as the effectiveness of treatment on top of which it is capable of contributing to the development of advanced drugs and therapies since the researchers acquire an understanding of the underlying molecular disease mechanisms (Ginsburg & Phillips, 2018). However, it is essential to consider that precision medicine has still been in the evolving phase whereas its widespread application encounters multiple potential challenges (Pauli et al.2017). Those challenges include the accessibility and cost of genetic testing, the integration of precision medicine into routine medical practice and the interpretation of complex genetic information (Llovet et al.2018). Nevertheless, online assignment help Sheffield and precision medicine involves ample scopes in advancing clinical care through sourcing more personalised and targeted approaches to the detection, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of deadly diseases, eventually leading to improved patient outcomes and care (Dugger, Platt & Goldstein, 2018).
The technologies employed in precision medicine:
Genetics:
It involves the study of the total sets of genes in individuals, involving their operations interactions with analyzing the genetic material or DNA of individuals for gaining insight into the way variations in genes are responsible for influencing health risk, disease and treatment response (Shae & Tsai, 2017).
Biomarkers:
These are measurable indicators including proteins, genes and other molecules that are paid attention to for identifying and predicting different biological methods, by assisting in the selection of targeted therapies with monitoring the effectiveness of treatment (Ginsburg & Phillips, 2018).
Pharmacogenomics:
This is the study of the way the genetic make of individuals impacts their response to treatment or drugs through evaluating genetic variations for predicting the way a patient is likely to metabolize medicines, their possibility of suffering from adverse medical reactions and the optimal requirements of dosage for them (Pauli et al.2017). These details help in tailoring the medication alternative and dosages for maximizing the efficacy of treatment and minimizing the side effects (Haendel, Chute & Robinson, 2018).
Targeted therapy:
These are the treatments that target specific abnormalities or molecular alterations in diseases aiming at interfering with specific proteins, genes and pathways engaged in disease development and progression. By targeting the hidden molecular mechanisms, the targeted therapies would be increasingly precise and effective as compared to conventional treatments (Shae & Tsai, 2017).
Molecular profiling:
This includes a comprehensive analysis of the genetic and molecular characteristics in the tissues or cells of a patient including examining the patterns of gene expression, protein levels and DNA mutations besides the other molecular characteristics (Pauli et al.2017). Molecular profiling enables the identification of specific molecular anomalies that would be targeted for treatment or employed as biomarkers for prognosis and diagnosis (Ginsburg & Phillips, 2018).
Data analytics and integration:
Precision medicine depends on the analysis and integration of large volumes of data such as clinical data, genomic data and so on. Additionally, data integration incorporates analysis and a combination of different datasets for gaining comprehensive insight into the health of individuals (Hampel et al.2020). Then again, advanced analytics including artificial intelligence and machine learning are also employed for mining as well as interpreting those complex datasets, contributing to treatment decisions and precise diagnosis (Haendel, Chute & Robinson, 2018).
Electronic health records:
Electronic health records can be defined as the digital forms of the medical background of individual patients, such as test outcomes, clinical notes and medications besides the other relevant healthcare details (Hampel et al.2020). Additionally, this technology plays a crucial role in precision medicine by sourcing comprehensive patient data that can be examined alongside molecular and genomic data in order to inform personalized medical decisions (Shae & Tsai, 2017).
The pros and cons associated with precision medicine:
The pros of precision medicine:
Personalized treatment:
Precision medicine aims at tailoring medical interventions to every patient, taking consideration into their unique environmental factors, lifestyle choices and genetic makeup resulting in increasing the likelihood of the effectiveness of treatment with reducing the threat of adverse medical reactions (Ginsburg & Phillips, 2018).
Disease detection and prevention:
Precision medicine helps in identifying patients that are at a high risk of growing certain diseases considering their genetic predisposition. Based on this data, proactive measures including targeted intervention or lifestyle changes are implemented for preventing or mitigating the onset of diseases (Haendel, Chute & Robinson, 2018).
Enhanced diagnostics:
The implementation of genetic testing besides the other relevant technologies in precession medicine leads to increasing accuracy as well as early detection of diseases enabling early intervention with potentially adding value to patient outcomes (Hampel et al.2020).
Selection of targeted therapy:
Through analyzing the genetic profile of a patient, precision medicine is capable of assisting in the identification of specific biomarkers or mutations that might respond to targeted therapies, leading to the selection of the right treatment alternatives, avoiding unnecessary treatments and minimizing the costs of healthcare (Pauli et al.2017).
Drug Designing and clinical research:
Precision medicine continues contributing to an in-depth insight into the molecular basis associated with diseases resulting in supporting the development of advanced drugs and therapies (König et al.2017). By paying attention to the specific molecular targets, physicians and medical researchers are capable of designing highly effective treatments for particular segments of patients (Llovet et al.2018).
The cons of precision medicine:
Access limitation:
The execution of precision medicine gets to be hindered by access limitations in relation to advanced technologies and genetic testing. Not all healthcare systems or individuals get equal access to those resources, significantly leading to unequal distribution of the advantages of advanced clinical care and healthcare disparities (König et al.2017).
High expenses:
The expense of implementing genetic testing besides the other molecular profiling mechanisms is very high, causing precision medicine economically burdensome for general people. Additionally, this factor limits the widespread availability and adoption of precision medicine (Fujiwara et al.2018).
Challenges with data interpretation:
Analysis and interpretation of complex clinical and genomic information demand specialized expertise and knowledge whereas the interpretation associated with genetic variations and the clinical importance of the same as well as their correlation with complex diseases could be very challenging (Llovet et al.2018).
Privacy and ethical concerns:
The implementation of genetic information involves privacy and ethical concerns. Protection of patient information and safeguarding against discrimination by assuring informed consent for information exchange and genetic testing are essential concerns in the practice of precision medicine (Fujiwara et al.2018).
Conclusion:
In the end, it is concluded that the advancement in precision medicine has been leading to influential new discoveries whereas the treatment approved by FDA, are tailored to the particular individual characteristic such as the genetic profile of the tumour grown in the body of an individual patient or genetic makeup of a person. Then again, the patients having a range of concerns, end up undergoing routine molecular testing as a critical part of high-end clinical care, helping the physicians choose the right treatments that can increase the possibility of survival by reducing the exposure of the patients to different types of adverse aftermaths. It is needed to be mentioned here that, with the progress of precision medicine, the pros associated with this field have been outweighing the cons, leading to increasingly effective and accessible personalized healthcare.
References:
Dugger, S. A., Platt, A., & Goldstein, D. B. (2018). Drug development in the era of precision medicine. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 17(3), 183-196. https://www.nature.com/articles/nrd.2017.226
Fujiwara, N., Friedman, S. L., Goossens, N., & Hoshida, Y. (2018). Risk factors and prevention of hepatocellular carcinoma in the era of precision medicine. Journal of Hepatology, 68(3), 526-549. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168827817323280
Ginsburg, G. S., & Phillips, K. A. (2018). Precision medicine: from science to value. Health Affairs, 37(5), 694-701. https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/abs/10.1377/hlthaff.2017.1624
Haendel, M. A., Chute, C. G., & Robinson, P. N. (2018). Classification, ontology, and precision medicine. New England Journal of Medicine, 379(15), 1452-1462. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1615014
Hampel, H., Caraci, F., Cuello, A. C., Caruso, G., Nisticò, R., Corbo, M., … & Lista, S. (2020). A path toward precision medicine for neuroinflammatory mechanisms in Alzheimer’s disease. Frontiers in immunology, 11, 456. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2020.00456/full
Hulsen, T., Jamuar, S. S., Moody, A. R., Karnes, J. H., Varga, O., Hedensted, S., … & McKinney, E. F. (2019). From big data to precision medicine. Frontiers in medicine, 34. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2019.00034/full?&utm_source=Email_to_authors_&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=T1_11.5e1_author&utm_campaign=Email_publication&field=&journalName=Frontiers_in_Medicine&id=414018
König, I. R., Fuchs, O., Hansen, G., von Mutius, E., & Kopp, M. V. (2017). What is precision medicine? European respiratory journal, 50(4). https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/50/4/1700391.short
Llovet, J. M., Montal, R., Sia, D., & Finn, R. S. (2018). Molecular therapies and precision medicine for hepatocellular carcinoma. Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, 15(10), 599-616. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41571-018-0073-4
Pauli, C., Hopkins, B. D., Prandi, D., Shaw, R., Fedrizzi, T., Sboner, A., … & Rubin, M. A. (2017). Personalized In Vitro and In Vivo Cancer Models to Guide Precision MedicinePersonalized Cancer Models to Guide Precision Medicine. Cancer Discovery, 7(5), 462-477. https://aacrjournals.org/cancerdiscovery/article-abstract/7/5/462/6239
Shae, Z., & Tsai, J. J. (2017, June). On the design of a blockchain platform for clinical trial and precision medicine. In 2017 IEEE 37th international conference on distributed computing systems (ICDCS) (pp. 1972-1980). IEEE. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7980138/