From the Editor

Precision medicine in the making


 

President Obama’s State of the Union address in January included an interesting announcement of relevance to all practicing oncologists, their patients, and cancer researchers: the establishment of the Precision Medicine Initiative, which has been underwritten by a US $215 million allocation in the 2016 Budget. The president noted at a subsequent event at which he unveiled the details of the initiative that most medical treatments use the “one-size-fits-all approach,” which as we know, in the reality of our day-to-day practice often translates into a handful of patients enjoying many benefits from a particular therapy, while many patients might see no or very few benefits from the same therapy.

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