Home » Personalized medicine must be a right

Personalized medicine must be a right

by admin

On average, in 75% of people with cancer, traditional therapies do not work. A figure that highlights the need to move from an approach based on the ‘drug for all’ to a targeted treatment, the result of a weighted choice based on the genetic profile and characteristics of the individual. It is the so-called precision oncology which, together with patient management and involvement in the management of the disease, constitutes the cornerstone of personalized medicine. This new approach to medicine, and in particular to oncology, leads to greater efficacy and less toxicity, a better quality of life and proves sustainable for the health system. In light of this evident, a network of 11 patient associations active in the oncology field are clamoring for personalized medicine to be recognized as a patients’ right. And to make the request concretely achievable, they drafted 10 Recommendations contained in the “White Book of personalized medicine” presented by the APMP Group – Patient Associations, together for the right to Personalized Medicine in oncology – today to the institutions. The book is part of the information and awareness project “Every story is unique”, created with the unconditional support of Roche Italia.

Introduction of genomic profiling tests within the Essential Levels of Assistance and reimbursement of drugs that may be suitable for the identified target even if not approved with that indication; establishment of the Molecular Tumor Board, multidisciplinary groups that evaluate the most suitable therapeutic choice for each individual patient; identification and accreditation of specialized centers where it is possible to access quality profiling tests throughout the territory; establishment of an IT platform that archives data relating to profiling and helps scientific research; widespread information for patients and training for healthcare personnel; more information on scientific studies of precision medicine; funding of research in this area; protection of patient privacy; involvement of associations in identifying ways of accessing genomic tests and evaluating the Molecular Tumor Boards. These are the fundamental points for patient associations that can ensure that personalized medicine is not just a right on paper. “It is necessary to act to ensure uniform access throughout the territory to genomic profiling tests to fill current discrepancies, as well as to promote the implementation of Diagnostic Therapeutic Assistance Pathways (PDTA) and correct information that generates awareness and supports decision-making processes ”Declared Nicoletta Cerana, President of ACTO – Alliance Against Ovarian Cancer and APMP spokesperson, underlining the salient points of the recommendations.

See also  1,000 operations have already been postponed because of the strikes in Hamburg's Asklepios clinics

For the APMP Group, this innovative therapeutic approach is the opportunity for a cultural revolution, even before a clinical one, where the person is no longer at the center. It is itself the center. Personalized medicine requires doctors, health professionals, patients, associations, caregivers, institutions and stakeholders to all work in synergy. And for this reason the “White Book of personalized medicine in oncology” was created in such a way as to gather the voice of the institutions and the contributions of some of the most authoritative experts – oncologists, geneticists, pathologists, pharmacoeconomists, sociologists and psychologists – on the subject of precision oncology. “With this Book we want to open a discussion with all those involved in the management of the Health System with the aim of making access to personalized medicine truly equitable”, underlined Cerana.

But what does personalized medicine mean?

Thanks to the progress of scientific research, today we know that there is no cancer but over 200 different types of oncological disease in each of which it is possible to detect mutations that guide its growth and spread. Furthermore, we know that environmental factors and lifestyle can also cause mutations. In the wake of these advances, there has been an exponential development of “targeted” drugs that allow doctors to make choices guided by the personal characteristics of each individual patient, for more effective therapeutic strategies with fewer side effects. Genomic testing is required to identify patients who may benefit from specific treatments; it is possible to analyze tumor DNA with a method called Next-Generation Sequencing which allows to simultaneously identify all the different types of genomic alterations in multiple genes in a single analysis with a broad genomic profiling (CGP). “The collection, interpretation and management of specific information for each patient – explains Paolo Marchetti, director of medical oncology at the Sapienza University of Rome and National President of the Foundation for Personalized Medicine (FMP) – allows an accurate diagnosis in the shortest possible time. and a treatment tailored to the individual, increasing the effectiveness of the treatment and improving the quality of life. An opportunity for the patient and for the Health System “.

See also  Neuroscience: Nocturnal cleaning in the brain - health

Read the data

For this to be achieved throughout the national territory, it is necessary to implement a new organizational model, which has not yet been fully implemented, in which the Molecular Tumor Board (MTB) is present, a multi- and inter-disciplinary team at the service of the long-term person. the whole therapeutic path, and the Regional Specialist Centers for the execution of Genomic Profiling tests (NGS). In this sense, “it is essential – explains Nello Martini, president of the Research and Health Foundation, former AIFA director – to move to a new model of health organization, the mutational one. It would be desirable to set up an interconnected national network of Molecular Tumor Board (MTB) and Regional Specialist Centers for the execution of Genomic Profiling tests (NGS) so as to be able to detect the molecular alterations that allow patients to be treated with drugs active on the mutation and possibly refer patients to centers where specific clinical studies are active. “In this sense, experts and patients hope that the Clinical Trials Observatory (OSC) will be opened by AIFA to MTBs in order to be able to promptly include patients in the trials and begin specific treatments as soon as possible. “In this way the research centers could count on a wider pool of patients, with the advantage of both the sick and the Italian research, which would become more competitive at an international level”, concluded Martini.

.

You may also like

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More

Privacy & Cookies Policy