With the advancement of technology, the medical community is witnessing the emergence of a new medical model - personalized medicine, also known as precision medicine. This model is no longer one-drug-fits-all, but rather a personalized medical plan based on each patient's genetic characteristics, lifestyle habits and environmental factors. The core of this medical model is “prediction, prevention, personalization and participation” (P4).
Personalized medicine is a model of medicine that groups patients into groups based on their predicted response to or risk of disease to tailor medical decisions, practices, and interventions.
Diagnostic tests play an important role in the development of personalized medicine. These tests can help select the most appropriate treatment based on a patient's genetic or other molecular characteristics. Advances in this field have been fueled by advances in genomics, which have enabled health care professionals to better identify the molecular basis of disease.
When we talk about personalized medicine, many people confuse it with precision medicine. Precision medicine is a healthcare model that customizes medical decisions to patient subgroups, which is different from the concept of one drug fits all. Both precision medicine and personalized medicine guide disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment based on genomic analysis of patients, but there are subtle differences in the terminology between the two.
Precision medicine makes clinical decisions more targeted and can formulate treatment plans based on the specific characteristics of patients.
Personalized medicine is based on the unique genomic variations that each person possesses. Although most of these variations are not related to health, they can affect an individual's health status. As technology advances, scientists are beginning to use techniques such as gene sequencing to identify mutations that may cause various diseases.
For example, RNA sequencing technology can show the expression of RNA molecules in specific diseases, which is crucial for understanding disease mechanisms. Recent studies have linked genetic differences between individuals to variations in RNA expression and protein levels.
The advantage of personalized medicine is that it can predict disease risks early and develop corresponding preventive measures based on the characteristics of different patients.
The implementation of personalized medicine depends on the development of molecular detection technology. The application of these technologies covers genome sequencing, proteomics, image analysis and other aspects, enabling doctors to diagnose diseases more accurately and formulate corresponding treatment plans. For example, by analyzing the genotype of patients receiving anticoagulant therapy, doctors can prescribe the best dosage for them, thereby reducing the risk of side effects.
Not only that, personalized medicine can also be applied in areas such as infectious diseases, by formulating corresponding treatment methods based on specific markers of pathogens, which is especially important for drug-resistant bacteria or viruses.
With the development of artificial intelligence, precision medicine has ushered in a new round of changes. Machine learning algorithms can not only analyze gene sequences, but also extract useful information from massive amounts of data. Studies have shown that machine learning-based algorithms achieved a 76% prediction accuracy rate in clinical trials of cancer treatment, demonstrating the potential of AI in this field.
The National Institutes of Health's Precision Medicine Initiative aims to expand cancer genomics and develop better prevention and treatment methods. The initiative's mission is to empower patients, researchers, and healthcare providers through research technology and policy to collaboratively develop personalized treatment options.
The benefit of personalized medicine is a better understanding of how multiple factors, including environment, lifestyle and genetics, affect health, allowing doctors to more accurately predict which treatments will be most effective.
Personalized medicine in the future will go beyond the selection of treatments and will have the potential to prevent disease, detect disease progression and improve drug development. As this field continues to advance, we will be able to more specifically tailor health plans for patients, which will not only improve treatment outcomes but also reduce healthcare costs.
Are you ready to embrace this medical revolution and better protect your health?