Study 'brings nuance to the paradigm of precision medicine'

The precision medicine hypothesis that the genetics of a patient’s cancer will determine their response to a treatment has been thrown into doubt by new research by the UK’s Institute of Cancer Research (ICR).

Cancers with the same genetic weaknesses respond differently to targeted drugs depending on the tumor type of the patient, the research reveals.

"The story isn’t quite as straightforward as matching a drug to a cancer’s genetics"ICR scientists found that cancer cells from a range of tumor types with the same genetic changes sent out different molecular signals when treated with precision medicines – and that this affected how the cells reacted to the treatment.