Personalized medicine is the future sustainable knowledge for human well-being
| Published date | 02 January 2018 |
| Date | 02 January 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/WJSTSD-09-2017-0029 |
| Pages | 94-97 |
| Author | Moiz Bakhiet |
| Subject Matter | Public policy & environmental management,Environmental technology & innovation |
Personalized medicine is the
future sustainable knowledge
for human well-being
Moiz Bakhiet
Department of Molecular Medicine,
Arabian Gulf University College of Medicine and Medical Science,
Manama, Bahrain
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to provide a viewpoint on the subject of personalized medicine and its
impact on human well-being.
Design/methodology/approach –The paper takes the form of a viewpoint.
Findings –The paper concludes that personalized medicine can help in the elimination of redundant
treatments, decreasing side effects, prevention of disease and earlier intervention.
Originality/value –This is a viewpoint piece.
Keywords Research, Personalized medicine, Molecular level
Paper type Viewpoint
Personalized medicine
Background
In 1898, William Stewart Haisted, considered the Father of American surgery, developed
an innovative approach to the treatment of breast cancer: the radical mastectomy.
A century later, the Food andDrugAdministrationapprovedanevenmoreradical
innovation: a biological compound called “rastuzumab,”which binds to the cells of some
cancerous tumors, triggers the body’s defense system to attack them and may prevent the
cells from replicating.
Trastuzumab, better known by its brand name, Herceptin, was one of the first drugs to
leverage the power of genetics to treat disease. It is prescribed only for patients whose
genetic tests reveal an over-expression of the protein HER2 due to a gene mutation –an
indicator of an aggressive form of cancer that is responsive to treatment by the drug.
Unlike chemotherapy drugs, which attack any cell that is replicating rapidly, including
healthy cells, Herceptin is customized to target only those cells associated with disease.
As a result, the drug has none of the side effects associated with chemotherapy, such as
hair loss and digestive problems.
Over the past decade, advanced research into genomics –the study of an organism’s
genes –and proteomics –the study of the proteins that genes create or “express”–has
accelerated our understanding of individual differences in genetic makeup, opening the door
to a more personalized approach to health care. “If you want to understand a disease,
genetics gives you the opportunity to shine a bright light into the darkness of our ignorance
so we can provide better ways to prevent and treat”says Dr Francis Collins, the former
Director of the National Center for Human Genome Research within the National Institutes
of Health who is now the Director of the NIH.
Since Genentech’s Herceptin and companion HER2 test were approved in 1998, they have
been joined by a growing roster of “targeted”diagnostics and therapeutics that are tailored
to the genetic makeup of the individual.
The science of genomics and proteomics has the potential to personalize health care,
enabling providers to match drugs to patients based on their genetic profiles, identify
World Journal of Science,
Technology and Sustainable
Development
Vol. 15 No. 1, 2018
pp. 94-97
© Emerald PublishingLimited
2042-5945
DOI 10.1108/WJSTSD-09-2017-0029
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2042-5945.htm
94
WJSTSD
15,1
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