Personalised Medicine

Personalised medicine, also known as precision medicine, is a form of medicine that uses information about a person’s genes, proteins and environment profile to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases.

While medicine has traditionally taken a reactive approach, this new methodology focuses more on a preemptive approach. Women with mutated BRCA1 and BRCA2 have a higher risks of suffering from breast cancer. Through personalised medicine, one will be able to know if they have the mutated gene, and can choose to surgically remove their breasts before developing the cancer.

With personalised medicine, clinicians tailor their recommendations to individual factors, which increases the effectiveness of the treatment. As the costs of genetic testing drops, and the usage of big data rises, there is greater accessibility for personalised medicine, improving the prospects of healthcare in the future.

Personalised medicine is an example of how medicine can continue to evolve in a biotechnology and data rich environment. This will inevitably change the way doctors treat their patients, and requires extensive adjustments in the way healthcare is provided.

Sources:

ttsh.com.sg/Patients-and-Visitors/Medical-Services/personalised-medicine/Pages/default.aspx

https://healthitanalytics.com/features/what-are-precision-medicine-and-personalized-medicine

https://www.jax.org/personalized-medicine/precision-medicine-and-you/what-is-precision-medicine#

https://translational-medicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12967-020-02316-w

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/risk-and-prevention/breast-cancer-risk-factors-you-cannot-change.html#:~:text=BRCA1%20and%20BRCA2%3A%20The%20most,which%20can%20lead%20to%20cancer.

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