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New Image Mapping Takes the Guess Work Out of Cancer Treatment
By Denise Mann, MS
WebMD Guest Blogger
Oct. 23, 2009 -- New image mapping technology that allows doctors to take a closer look inside cancer cells is helping usher in the era of personalized medicine.
Researchers can now map out more than 25 proteins in prostate and colon cancer cells and tell which signaling pathways are activated within these tumors -- a level of detail not possible with existing technologies. These findings will pave the way toward the development of more targeted therapies and allow doctors to more accurately match drugs with cancer patients, improving care and eliminating a lot of trial and error.
“We didn’t realize the heterogeneity within cancer cells,” says Richard J. Gaynor, MD, vice president of clinical investigation at Lilly Research Laboratories in Indianapolis. Calling the new technology a “huge coup,” Gaynor says that it “will potentially extend to all cancers and other disease where there is a molecular component, such as Alzheimer’s disease.” Eli Lilly developed the new technology with General Electric.
So far, the technology has been tested in colon and prostate cancer tissue, and preliminary studies on these and other cancers are slated to begin within a year, Gaynor tells WebMD. He envisions the technology being used in the diagnosis of disease and as a way to monitor treatment.
“If we can see what is going on at the cellular level, basically, our hope is that we can develop drugs that target specific proteins and signaling pathways and that can make a big difference,” says Mark Little, PhD, the senior vice present and director of GE Global Research in Fairfield, Conn. “So far, the results have exceeded our expectations.”
Personalized medicine is the wave of the future, says Marisa Weiss, MD, the president and founder of advocacy group Breastcancer.org and the author of several books, including Taking Care of Your Girls: A Breast Health Guide for Girls, Teens, and In-Betweens.
For example, “breast cancer is as unique as each woman who might one day receive a diagnosis [and] because no two cancers are identical, there is no one-size-fits-all treatment, says Weiss, who is also the director of breast radiation oncology and breast health outreach at Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, Pa.
The future of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment is to first conduct an intensive internal investigation into the unique extent and nature of the cancer, followed by a customized treatment plan that’s perfectly tailored to each woman’s individual situation,” she tells WebMD. “The promise of personalized medicine requires the development of a customized solution to precisely target the unique nature of each person’s cancer. Only then will the greatest benefits with the fewest side effects be achieved for each person facing a potentially life-threatening diagnosis of breast cancer.”
SOURCES:
Richard J. Gaynor, MD vice president of clinical investigation at Lilly Research Laboratories in Indianapolis.
Mark Little, PhD, senior vice present and director of GE Global Research in Fairfield, Conn.
General Electric Healthymagination conference in New York City.
WebMD Guest Blogger
Oct. 23, 2009 -- New image mapping technology that allows doctors to take a closer look inside cancer cells is helping usher in the era of personalized medicine.
Researchers can now map out more than 25 proteins in prostate and colon cancer cells and tell which signaling pathways are activated within these tumors -- a level of detail not possible with existing technologies. These findings will pave the way toward the development of more targeted therapies and allow doctors to more accurately match drugs with cancer patients, improving care and eliminating a lot of trial and error.
“We didn’t realize the heterogeneity within cancer cells,” says Richard J. Gaynor, MD, vice president of clinical investigation at Lilly Research Laboratories in Indianapolis. Calling the new technology a “huge coup,” Gaynor says that it “will potentially extend to all cancers and other disease where there is a molecular component, such as Alzheimer’s disease.” Eli Lilly developed the new technology with General Electric.
So far, the technology has been tested in colon and prostate cancer tissue, and preliminary studies on these and other cancers are slated to begin within a year, Gaynor tells WebMD. He envisions the technology being used in the diagnosis of disease and as a way to monitor treatment.
“If we can see what is going on at the cellular level, basically, our hope is that we can develop drugs that target specific proteins and signaling pathways and that can make a big difference,” says Mark Little, PhD, the senior vice present and director of GE Global Research in Fairfield, Conn. “So far, the results have exceeded our expectations.”
Personalized medicine is the wave of the future, says Marisa Weiss, MD, the president and founder of advocacy group Breastcancer.org and the author of several books, including Taking Care of Your Girls: A Breast Health Guide for Girls, Teens, and In-Betweens.
For example, “breast cancer is as unique as each woman who might one day receive a diagnosis [and] because no two cancers are identical, there is no one-size-fits-all treatment, says Weiss, who is also the director of breast radiation oncology and breast health outreach at Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, Pa.
The future of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment is to first conduct an intensive internal investigation into the unique extent and nature of the cancer, followed by a customized treatment plan that’s perfectly tailored to each woman’s individual situation,” she tells WebMD. “The promise of personalized medicine requires the development of a customized solution to precisely target the unique nature of each person’s cancer. Only then will the greatest benefits with the fewest side effects be achieved for each person facing a potentially life-threatening diagnosis of breast cancer.”
SOURCES:
Richard J. Gaynor, MD vice president of clinical investigation at Lilly Research Laboratories in Indianapolis.
Mark Little, PhD, senior vice present and director of GE Global Research in Fairfield, Conn.
General Electric Healthymagination conference in New York City.
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