BIOMEDICINE: Tailored Cancer Therapy

Tailored hormonal therapy in secretory adrenocortical cancer.

Tailored hormonal therapy in secretory adrenocortical cancer Mitotane is often considered the front-line hormonal therapy of adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC). An illustrative case concerning this issue and the rationale to ponder other alternatives is reported. A 69 year-old woman, diagnosed with ACC was admitted with hypertensive crisis, supraventricular tachycardia, congestive heart-failure, di...

Pairing Cancer Biomarkers to Biomedicine

On May 23, 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab for the treatment of any solid tumors with certain specific genetic features or biomarkers, namely microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR). This was the first time that the FDA approved a cancer treatment based on a common biomarker, rather than the organ site or histology. Pemb...

Molecular markers in gastrointestinal cancer: targeted therapy and tailored chemotherapy.

Tailored therapy for severe asthma

Patients with severe asthma or COPD have often a suboptimal symptom control due to inadequate treatment. A better understanding of pathogenetic mechanisms, phenotypes, endotypes and the new technologies available in the fields of molecular biology and immunogenetics have made it possible to synthesize specific monoclonal antibodies virtually able to interact with any target antigen, or to open ...

Genetics and tailored therapy in cardiovascular disease

Can we today apply genetics to individual patients and tailor therapy based on genetic profile to improve pharmacodynamics and kinetics [1]? This is an interesting question especially for the treatment of hypertension as substantial heterogeneity in efficacy exists in response to drug therapy. Individualised medicine may guide physicians in their choice instead of the old-fashioned trial-and-er...