Research
What Is Precision Medicine in Cancer?
Precision medicine and 'personalized' cancer treatment are common in the news. Here's what these terms mean, straight from NCI, and where they fit in cancer care today.
Please note: this page is educational only — it is not medical advice, and it does not speculate about anyone’s health beyond reliable public reporting. For questions about your own health, talk with your healthcare team.
What people see in the news
"Precision medicine," "personalized medicine," and treatments "tailored to your DNA" show up often in cancer coverage. The phrases can sound futuristic, or like a promise that everyone will get a custom cure. NCI's explanation is more grounded.
What it actually means
According to the National Cancer Institute, precision medicine — also called personalized medicine — is an approach to medical care in which disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment are tailored to the genes, proteins, and other substances in a person's body.
For cancer treatment specifically, NCI says precision medicine means using biomarker and other tests to select treatments that are most likely to help a person, while sparing them treatments unlikely to help. Biomarker testing — looking for genes, proteins, and other substances in a tumor — is an important part of this approach.
NCI explains the science behind it: cancer cells can carry many different changes in genes, proteins, and other substances that make them grow and spread, and even two people with the same type of cancer may not have the same changes. Some of these changes affect how well certain treatments work.
Importantly, NCI offers perspective on where precision medicine stands today. It states that even though researchers are making progress, the precision medicine approach is not yet part of routine care for most patients. NCI also emphasizes that the "standard" approach to treatment — choosing treatments based on the type of cancer, its size, and whether it has spread — is effective and is itself personalized to each patient.
What to keep in mind
- Precision medicine is a real and growing approach, but NCI notes it isn't yet routine for most patients.
- "Standard" treatment is not old-fashioned or one-size-fits-all — NCI describes it as effective and personalized too.
- Tailored treatments depend on finding a biomarker that matches an available therapy, which doesn't happen for everyone.
Questions to ask a healthcare team
- Is a precision-medicine or biomarker-guided approach an option for my cancer?
- How does my recommended treatment fit my specific situation?
- Would testing help identify treatments or clinical trials suited to me?
- What are the benefits and limits of a tailored approach for me?
Understanding precision medicine helps separate genuine progress from hype in the headlines. Free, plain-language cancer education helps more people read these stories clearly.