Precision medicine is making strides in melanoma treatment.
This article is featured in the Genome Summer 2016 issue
Like many people, I enjoy spending time outdoors in the summer. When it comes to wearing sunscreen though, I admit I’m not as diligent as I should be. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a time when baby oil was an acceptable tanning agent. As a young girl, I remember watching commercials on TV advertising cocoa butter for a deep dark tan and decided to see if regular butter would do the trick. When sunscreen with SPF was introduced, I really didn’t understand it. I would debate with my sister at the beach about the amount of protection you get when you mix an SPF 4 sunscreen with an SPF 15 sunscreen. Maybe my lax attitude about sun block is because, with an olive complexion and no family history, I don’t perceive myself to be at risk of skin cancer.
Surely a number of factors contribute to whether someone adheres to health behaviors aimed at reducing their risk of disease. Last year, a large study of more than 700 people conducted by the Coriell Institute for Medical Research in Camden, New Jersey, found that genetic risk information was significantly associated with sun protection behaviors, especially in cases where family history is incomplete.
Genetic predisposition testing is only one way in which precision medicine can impact the management of melanoma. In this issue of Genome, we take a deep dive into melanoma precision medicine, exploring advances in diagnosis and targeted and immunotherapy treatment options. (See “More Skin in the Game,” page 56.) At a recent conference I attended, melanoma was also the subject of another type of treatment — cancer vaccines.
Cancer vaccines are based on our understanding of cancer at the molecular level. By sequencing tumors, we can identify proteins expressed in the tumor but not in normal tissue. These proteins (also called antigens, or neoantigens) become targets for treatment using therapeutic antibodies designed to specifically attack these targets. While targeted treatments have been shown to improve outcomes in cancer patients, in most cases, the cancer recurs.
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Genome Magazine‘s mission is to explore the world of personalized medicine and the genomic revolution that makes it possible, empowering you to make informed health decisions that will help you live better and longer.
