Cancer Fighters Thrive is a quarterly print and online magazine bringing readers practical, innovative and inspirational information about cancer treatment and survivorship.
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RESEARCH TODAY THE FUTURE OF CANCER TREATMENT: PERSONALIZED, TARGETED and SPECIFIC By Laurie Wertich Genomic testing ofers patients hope for treatment that targets the individual tumor. What if a simple diagnostic test could assist in determining a patient's cancer treatment? Dennis Citrin, MD, PhD, medical oncologist at Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA) in Zion, Illinois, says that was just the scenario with a patient in his care: "She had infammatory recurrence of breast cancer and had been through a lot of chemotherapy without success." As her care team investigated further treatment options, they learned that the specifc characteristics of the unique tumor in her case offered them insight into which patient treatment that is much more precise. This new approach to cancer treatment—marked by specifc, targeted and customized therapies—can offer patients invaluable, additional options. treatment would be appropriate. The information, provided through genomic testing, made a signifcant difference. "Once we identifed the genomics of the tumor, we were able to give her a targeted treatment." New and innovative developments in genomics are leading to an increasing number of stories like the one Dr. Citrin describes. When doctors are able to identify the individual "fngerprint" of a specifc cancer, they can offer the are encoded in your DNA. Your DNA is organized into pieces called chromosomes, and these chromosomes are further organized into short segments of DNA called genes. If your DNA is like a cookbook, then genes are the recipes. These recipes tell your cells how to function and what traits to express. Studying these genes gives us a glimpse into the unique characteristics that make each of us different—and it can also provide us with information about the unique 38 cancer fighters thrive | winter 2013 WHAT IS GENOMICS? Don't worry—you don't have to be a science whiz to develop a basic understanding of genomics. A quick fashback to high school biology: Your body is made up of trillions of tiny cells, and each one contains the complete set of instructions that make you you. These instructions aspects of an illness like cancer. Genomics is the study of the entire genome—or the complete set of the DNA in any living cell. This is different from genetics, which refers to the study of single genes and their effects. "'Genomics' and 'genetics' are two terms that are often used interchangeably," explains Ritwick Panicker, MD, FACP, Medical Oncologist at CTCA in Tulsa, Oklahoma. "In general, genomics is used to assess the genes that make up the cancer. Genetics applies to checking the genes that we have inherited from our parents. Genomics is cancer-specifc, whereas genetics is patient-specifc." Genomics examines multiple genes and how they interact with one another and the environment to affect health—and we can use the information to decipher the genetic code of individual cancers. HOW IS GENOMICS USED IN CANCER TREATMENT? Just as every snowfake or every person or every fngerprint is different, every cfthrive.com