Da Silva RCDS, Simon NA, Dos Santos AA, Olegário GDM, Da Silva JF, Sousa NO, Corbacho MAT, de Melo FF. Personalized medicine: Clinical oncology on molecular view of treatment. World J Clin Oncol 2024; 15(8): 992-1001 [PMID: 39193152 DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v15.i8.992]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Fabrício Freire de Melo, PhD, Professor, Instituto Multidisciplinar em Saúde, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Rua Hormínio Barros, 58, Candeias, Vitória da Conquista 45029-094, Bahia, Brazil. freiremelo@yahoo.com.br
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Opinion Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Oncol. Aug 24, 2024; 15(8): 992-1001 Published online Aug 24, 2024. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v15.i8.992
Personalized medicine: Clinical oncology on molecular view of treatment
Rafick Costa Dos Santos Da Silva, Nathalia de Andrade Simon, André Alves Dos Santos, Gabriel De Melo Olegário, Jayne Ferreira Da Silva, Naide Oliveira Sousa, Manuel Alvarez Troncoso Corbacho, Fabrício Freire de Melo
Rafick Costa Dos Santos Da Silva, Nathalia de Andrade Simon, André Alves Dos Santos, Gabriel De Melo Olegário, Jayne Ferreira Da Silva, Naide Oliveira Sousa, Manuel Alvarez Troncoso Corbacho, Fabrício Freire de Melo, Instituto Multidisciplinar em Saúde, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Vitória Da Conquista 45029-094, Bahia, Brazil
Author contributions: Da Silva RCDS and Dos Santos AA conceived the theme and objective of the research, supervised the writing and analysis of project references; Da Silva RCDS, Simon NA, Dos Santos AA, Olegário GDM, Da Silva JF, Sousa NO, Corbacho MAT, and de Melo FF carried out literature searches, critical analysis of the articles used as references and contributed to the writing; Da Silva RCDS and Corbacho MAT created illustrative tables and figures; de Melo FF contributed to the project submission and final supervision.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4. 0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: Https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Fabrício Freire de Melo, PhD, Professor, Instituto Multidisciplinar em Saúde, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Rua Hormínio Barros, 58, Candeias, Vitória da Conquista 45029-094, Bahia, Brazil. freiremelo@yahoo.com.br
Received: February 29, 2024 Revised: June 3, 2024 Accepted: July 10, 2024 Published online: August 24, 2024 Processing time: 169 Days and 8.1 Hours
Abstract
Cancer, the second leading global cause of death, impacts both physically and emotionally. Conventional treatments such as surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy have adverse effects, driving the need for more precise approaches. Precision medicine enables more targeted treatments. Genetic mapping, alongside other molecular biology approaches, identifies specific genes, contributing to accurate prognoses. The review addresses, in clinical use, a molecular perspective on treatment. Biomarkers like alpha-fetoprotein, beta-human chorionic gonadotropin, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, programmed death-1, and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 are explored, providing valuable information. Bioinformatics, with an emphasis on artificial intelligence, revolutionizes the analysis of biological data, offering more accurate diagnoses. Techniques like liquid biopsy are emphasized for early detection. Precision medicine guides therapeutic strategies based on the molecular characteristics of the tumor, as evidenced in the molecular subtypes of breast cancer. Classifications allow personalized treatments, highlighting the role of trastuzumab and endocrine therapies. Despite the benefits, challenges persist, including high costs, tumor heterogeneity, and ethical issues. Overcoming obstacles requires collaboration, ensuring that advances in molecular biology translate into accessible benefits for all.
Core Tip: This review emphasizes the importance of precision medicine in cancer treatment, highlighting the role of molecular biology in identifying specific genetic markers for more accurate prognosis and targeted therapies. We discuss the main biomarkers, such as alpha-fetoprotein and programmed death-1, and the revolutionary impact of bioinformatics in the diagnosis of neoplasms. Techniques such as liquid biopsy and immunohistochemistry gain prominence for early detection as a directional tool for therapies. The review also addresses challenges, including costs and tumor heterogeneity, advocating collaborative efforts to ensure these advances are accessible to all.
