Molecular profiling for precision cancer therapies.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Genomics
• Molecular Pathology

Background:

• Druggable tumor molecular aberrations have increased, leading to survival benefits with biomarker-matched therapies.
• Molecular pathology is crucial for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic decisions.
• Next-generation sequencing and large-scale profiling have transformed precision oncology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current and future strategies for implementing precision cancer medicine.
• To highlight challenges and solutions for interpreting and utilizing molecular profiling results.
• To explore novel characterization methods and liquid biopsy applications.

Main Methods:

• Review of current and emerging precision cancer medicine approaches.
• Description of molecular characterization strategies beyond DNA sequencing (transcriptomics, immunophenotyping, epigenetics, single-cell analysis).
• Evaluation of liquid biopsy applications for blood-based biomarkers (circulating tumor cells, nucleic acids).

Main Results:

• Comprehensive genomic analyses are increasingly available, posing interpretation challenges.
• Novel molecular characterization strategies offer deeper insights into tumors.
• Liquid biopsies show potential for non-invasive biomarker evaluation.

Conclusions:

• Effective interpretation and translation of molecular profiling are key to maximizing clinical utility.
• Expanding precision medicine requires integrating multi-omic data and overcoming current limitations.
• Future directions involve leveraging advanced techniques and liquid biopsies for broader application.