Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2026
10:28
Dynamic Digital Biomarkers of Motor and Cognitive Function in Parkinson's Disease
Published on: July 24, 2019
Digitization and its discontents: future shock in predictive oncology
1Department of Oncology, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
Seminars in Oncology
|February 23, 2010
Summary
High-technology is revolutionizing cancer care, shifting towards personalized medicine driven by biomarkers. This digital transformation impacts treatment, costs, and the doctor-patient relationship in predictive oncology.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Health Informatics
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Clinical cancer care is undergoing a significant transformation driven by high-technology informatics.
- This revolution involves a conflict between personalized (biomarker-guided) and depersonalized (bureaucracy-controlled) medicine.
- Key factors include the proliferation of treatment algorithms, rising biological drug costs, advanced genomic tools, and offshore treatment facilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the impact of technological advancements and market forces on the delivery of cancer care.
- To explore the evolving landscape of personalized versus standardized medicine in oncology.
- To understand the implications of digitization on healthcare economics and professional service delivery.
Main Methods:
- The study analyzes market dynamics and technological trends within clinical cancer care.
- It examines the influence of digital transformation, including online algorithms and genomic tools.
- The research considers the role of third-party payers and reimbursement criteria in shaping medical practice.
Main Results:
- Digital transformation is leading to incremental improvements in cost-efficacy for healthcare consumers.
- Third-party payers are increasingly using biomarkers to tighten reimbursement criteria.
- The oncology marketplace is experiencing 'Napster-like' forces, disrupting traditional models.
Conclusions:
- A new paradigm of professional service delivery is emerging in predictive oncology.
- This paradigm is less centered on doctor-patient relationships and more dependent on pricing and marketing for standardized biomarker-defined indications.
- The digital transformation of oncology presents both opportunities for cost-efficacy and challenges to traditional healthcare relationships.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Issues And Trends In Healthcare Delivery System
The issues and trends in healthcare delivery are constantly changing. The COVID-19 pandemic is one recent issue that wreaked havoc on healthcare systems, causing a shortage of healthcare workers, high demand for medicines and supplies, and increased medical expenditure due to a lack of insurance. Other issues include rising healthcare costs and care fragmentation.
Cost Containment
Payment for healthcare services has historically promoted adoption of costly and often unnecessary or inefficient...
Cost Containment
Payment for healthcare services has historically promoted adoption of costly and often unnecessary or inefficient...
02:50Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine
Combining two or more treatment methods increases the life span of cancer patients while reducing damage to vital organs or tissue from the overuse of a single treatment. Combination therapy also targets different cancer-inducing pathways, thus reducing the chances of developing resistance to treatment.
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...
03:00Next-generation Sequencing
The first human genome sequencing project cost $2.7 billion and was declared complete in 2003, after 15 years of international cooperation and collaboration between several research teams and funding agencies. Today, with the advent of next-generation sequencing technologies, the cost and time of sequencing a human genome have dropped over 100 fold.
Next-Generation Sequencing Methods
Although all next-generation methods use different technologies, they all share a set of standard features.
Next-Generation Sequencing Methods
Although all next-generation methods use different technologies, they all share a set of standard features.
02:53Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Cancer cells accumulate genetic changes at an abnormally rapid rate due to the defects in the DNA repair mechanisms. From an evolutionary perspective, such genetic instability is advantageous for cancer development. Mutant cell lines accumulate a series of beneficial mutations that contribute to their progression into cancer.
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
02:53Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Cancer cells accumulate genetic changes at an abnormally rapid rate due to the defects in the DNA repair mechanisms. From an evolutionary perspective, such genetic instability is advantageous for cancer development. Mutant cell lines accumulate a series of beneficial mutations that contribute to their progression into cancer.
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
02:18Cancer
Cancers arise due to mutations in genes involved in the regulation of cell division, which leads to unrestricted cell proliferation. Modern science and medicine have made great strides in the understanding and treatment of cancer, including eradicating cancer in some patients. However, there is still no cure for cancer. This is largely due to the fact that cancer is a large group of many diseases.