bloggers: Gregory D. Pawelski on Genomics And Targets For The Treatment Of Cancer: Is Our New World Turning Into "Pharmageddon" Or Are We On The Threshold Of Great Discoveries?

Gregory D. Pawelski on Genomics And Targets For The Treatment Of Cancer: Is Our New World Turning Into "Pharmageddon" Or Are We On The Threshold Of Great Discoveries?

"I was telling your old colleague, Dr. Herman Kattlove, who posted about this on his blog, I thought his "genetic heterogeneity" terminology was more befitting than what was used in the title of the British study (Intratumor Heterogeneity). "Taking one biopsy sample of a tumor may not be enough to reveal its full genetic identity," was described by Medical News Today's Catharine Paddock, PhD. The study is significant because it suggests relying on one sample could overlook (other) important biomarkers that help make tailored treatments effective, explaining perhaps why personalized cancer therapy has been less successful than expected. Dr. Robert Nagourney, Medical and Laboratory Director at Rational Therapeutics, Inc., Long Beach, California, pointed out the disturbing news regarding the predictive validity and clinical applicability of human tumor genomic analysis for the selection of (targeted) chemotherapeutic agents. He also pointed out the accompanying editorial by Dr. Dan Longo, which made several points worth noting. First, he states that "DNA is not the whole story." This should be familiar to those who follow cell function analysis. Dr. Longo references Albert Einstein, who said, "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." Dr. Nagourney appreciates and applauds Dr. Long's comments for they echo his sentiments completely. The article of the study is only the most recent example of a growing litany of observations that call into question molecular biologist's preternatural fixation on genomic analyses. Human biology is not simple and malignantly transformed cells more are more complex still. Investigators who insist upon using genomic platforms to force disorderly cells into artificially ordered sub-categories, have once again been forced to admit that these oversimplifications fail to provide the needed insights for the advancement of cancer therapeutics. Those laboratories and corporations that offer "high price" genomic analyses for the selection of "high price" chemotherapy drugs take notice of this and related articles carefully as these reports portend a troubling future for their current business model ("personalized" cancer treatment)."