Precision medicine and how it will help with cancer treatments, rising costs

Cancer is a word that strikes fear into the hearts of many.

In Singapore, where one in four residents is expected to confront this diagnosis at some point, the concern isn’t just about health outcomes but also the financial toll.

While the Singapore Government has been actively working to ease the burden, there is always room for other potential solutions that could help alleviate these concerns.

A prime example: Precision medicine, an approach that dovetails perfectly with Singapore’s emerging focus on preventive health.

Traditionally, cancer treatment has been a complex and costly endeavour, marred by fragmented care, a deluge of information for clinicians, and non-standardised medical technology infrastructures.

These challenges could lead to compromised treatment plans that come with no guarantee of success.

The same treatment that proves effective for one patient might not work for another, leading to wasted resources and, more tragically, lost time.

Time is of the essence in cancer care; delays can result in a decreased effectiveness of treatment and an increase in the cost of care.

Add to this the prevailing notion among patients and caregivers that the most complicated and expensive treatments are the best, and you’ve got a recipe for skyrocketing costs.

This is why precision medicine is poised to be a game changer in cancer care, offering not just personalised treatments but also a more streamlined pathway to care.

This innovative approach tailors treatments to individual patients by using their genetic makeup, lifestyle, and environmental factors as a blueprint, accelerating the journey from diagnosis to treatment.

Diagnostics imaging, a key contributor of the acceleration of the journey, spans the whole process of the cancer care continuum, not just for screening and early detection, but also through diagnosis, therapy and survivorship.

The molecular-level imaging has allowed for more accurate decision-making through each stage and complements the precision medicine process.

By leveraging the power of machine learning and the burgeoning field of panomics (the combined analysis of multi-dimensional data), precision medicine can analyse massive sets of data and turn them into actionable decision-support tools, providing healthcare providers with the insights they need to create highly personalised treatment plans.

This is particularly relevant for cancer care because of the disease’s inherent complexity and the multitude of types, each requiring different treatment modalities.