Precision Medicine: Steps along the Road to Combat Human Cancer.

The diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as cancer is becoming more accurate and specialized with the advent of precision medicine techniques, research and treatments. Reaching down to the cellular and even sub-cellular level, diagnostic tests can pinpoint specific, individual information from each patient, and guide providers to a more accurate plan of treatment. With this advanced knowledge, researchers and providers can better gauge the effectiveness of drugs, radiation, and other therapies, which is bound to lead to a more accurate, if not more positive, prognosis. As precision medicine becomes more established, new techniques, equipment, materials and testing methods will be required. Herein, we will examine the recent innovations in assays, devices and software, along with next generation sequencing in genomics diagnostics which are in use or are being developed for personalized medicine. So as to avoid duplication and produce the fullest possible benefit, all involved must be strongly encouraged to collaborate, across national borders, public and private sectors, science, medicine and academia alike. In this paper we will offer recommendations for tools, research and development, along with ideas for implementation. We plan to begin with discussion of the lessons learned to date, and the current research on pharmacogenomics. Given the steady stream of advances in imaging mass spectrometry and nanoLC-MS/MS, and use of genomic, proteomic and metabolomics biomarkers to distinguish healthy tissue from diseased cells, there is great potential to utilize pharmacogenomics to tailor a drug or drugs to a particular cohort of patients. Such efforts very well may bring increased hope for small groups of non-responders and those who have demonstrated adverse reactions to current treatments.

UPLC-MS for metabolomics: a giant step forward in support of pharmaceutical research.

Metabolomics is a relatively new and rapidly growing area of post-genomic biological research. As use of metabolomics technology grows throughout the spectrum of drug discovery and development, and its applications broaden, its impact is expanding dramatically. This review seeks to provide the reader with a brief history of the development of metabolomics, its significance and strategies for conducting metabolomics studies. The most widely used analytical tools for metabolomics: NMR, LC-MS and GC-MS, are discussed along with considerations for their use. Herein, we will show how metabolomics can assist in pharmaceutical research studies, such as pharmacology and toxicology, and discuss some examples of the importance of metabolomics analysis in research and development.