Cancer Targeted Therapy Strategy: The Pathologist's Perspectives

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Pathology
• Molecular Diagnostics

Background:

• Personalized medicine in oncology relies on specific molecular features of tumors.
• Biomarkers, such as genetic alterations or protein expression, guide targeted drug selection.
• Accurate tumor characterization is essential for effective personalized treatment strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the pathologist's critical role in ensuring the reliability of molecular diagnostics for personalized oncology.
• To review the pathologist's involvement in pre-analytic and standard operating procedures.
• To summarize applications of targeted therapy where pathological diagnosis is fundamental.

Main Methods:

• Review of immunohistochemical and molecular analyses for tumor status definition.
• Examination of nucleic acid analysis from tissues and fluids.
• Discussion of traditional and next-generation sequencing from a pathologist's viewpoint.

Main Results:

• Pathologists play a key role in controlling pre-analytic and standard operating procedures for reliable results.
• Six paradigmatic applications of targeted therapy are summarized, emphasizing the importance of pathological diagnosis.
• The shift towards personalized medicine necessitates pathologist expertise in molecular diagnostics and prognostication.

Conclusions:

• The pathologist's meticulous control over diagnostic procedures is paramount for the success of personalized cancer therapy.
• Accurate pathological assessment is indispensable for identifying appropriate molecular targets and predicting therapy response.
• Pathologists are central to advancing personalized medicine through precise disease definition and prognostication.