Does genetic testing help in cancer treatment? Accompanying Diagnosis Helps Realize Precision Medicine

There are more and more genetic testing products on the market, and in recent years, with the boom in targeted drugs and the inclusion of next-generation sequencing (NGS) cancer testing in the United States as a part of the national health insurance payment, companion diagnostics have gradually gained attention.

Companion diagnostics are related to drug selection, using specific "biomarker" test results as an indicator, and recommending the use of a drug only if it meets the target of the drug's action. In the U.S., the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will send the companion drug and the test for review in parallel, and both the drug and the test will pass the review before they are approved.

Nowadays, more and more emphasis is being placed on personalized treatment and precision medicine, and in particular, targeted medicines are being developed to address specific targets on certain tumors, but it is not true that the use of targeted medicines can be called precision medicine. According to a 2015 U.S. statistical study, only 4%-25% of the top 10 best-selling drugs in the U.S. are effective treatments, and most of the treatments are actually ineffective. Therefore, in the high-priced new drugs are not on the market, how to make the patient's money can be spent on the knife's mouth, we have to find the corresponding auxiliary treatment, in order to play a real therapeutic effect.

At this stage, in oncology, it is possible to analyze the test reagents to see if there are known predictive biomarkers in the patient, such as gene mutations in different cancers, antibodies on the cell surface, or variations in the protein body. These biomarkers affect the patient's response to therapeutic drugs, so it is important to identify the breakthroughs that will allow the tumor to be attacked, and then use the appropriate weapons to make the drugs work.

In the past two to three years, the cost of genetic testing for targeted cancer drugs has been significantly reduced, compared to the cost of genetic testing in the past, which could easily cost more than 100,000 yuan, the average cost of genetic testing has now been reduced to about 3-10 million yuan, plus targeted drug therapy for a month to 10,000,000 yuan, 200,000 yuan, and to use the observation of three months to determine whether it is effective or not, and to determine the target gene prior to treatment with targeted drugs is the most effective way to prevent cancer. Determining the target gene before receiving targeted drug therapy is a relatively cost-effective tool.

With the development of genetic testing technology, the measurement time has been shortened from more than 10 weeks in the past to 14-21 days, so that patients do not have to wait so long, and can know the results as soon as possible to choose the right drug for their treatment.

Nowadays, there are many genetic testing companies, and some of them work directly with cancer treatment hospitals, so patients can choose the right testing program through their physician's advice, which is relatively reassuring. If you're looking for a genetic testing company, ask the lab if it's accredited by "Medical Laboratory - Quality and Competency Specific Requirements ISO 15189" or furthermore "College of American Pathologists (CAP)"; and if the biomarkers tested are registered by the FDA, the quality of which is more guaranteed than ever. The quality of the product is more guaranteed.