Tumors have significant differences depending on the person affected, even if they are the same cancer, such as breast cancer. Therefore, precision oncology targets specific genetic characteristics of a tumor and incorporates them into treatment. In this way, existing therapies can be “tailored” to avoid side effects and save money on expensive treatments. This represents the cancer treatment of the future.

Dr Dilara Akhoundova, medical oncologist at the University Hospital Bern and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bern, and Prof Mark A. Rubin, director of the Department for BioMedical Research (DBMR) and the Bern Center for Precision Medicine (BCPM), have now summarized and reviewed the most recent advances in multi-omics tumor profiling. In their review, published in the leading journal Cancer Cell, they provide a critical view of the current state of translational validation of the reviewed technologies and analyze their potential for integration into precision treatment.

These new technologies take us to a depth of understanding of tumors that has never been seen before. It is as if with the standard tools, we were told that Switzerland is a country with higher altitudes than the Netherlands; with these new technologies, we can see the 3-D landscape of mountains, valleys, and lakes.”

Mark A. Rubin, Director of the Bern Center for Precision Medicine

Integrating novel technologies into the clinic as fast as possible

However, there…