Have a personal or library account? Click to login
Precision oncology: A narrative review of recent developments and challenges Cover

Precision oncology: A narrative review of recent developments and challenges

Open Access
|Dec 2025

References

  1. Horak P, Fröhling S, Glimm H. Integrating next-generation sequencing into clinical oncology: strategies, promises and pitfalls. ESMO Open. 2016;1(5):e000094.
  2. Liu B, Zhou H, Tan L, et al. Exploring treatment options in cancer: tumor treatment strategies. Signal Transduct Target Ther. 2024;9:175.
  3. Radovich M, Kiel PJ, Nance SM, et al. Clinical benefit of a precision medicine-based approach for guiding treatment of refractory cancers. Oncotarget. 2016;7(35):56491-56500.
  4. Georget M, Pisan E. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) for beginners. Rev Mal Respir. 2023;40(4):345–358.
  5. Thankachan A, Thomas B. A study of next generation sequencing data, workflow, application and platform comparison. IOP Conf Ser Mater Sci Eng. 2018;396(1):012031.
  6. Salvo M, Gonzálezfeliú E, Toro J, Gallegos I, et al. Validation of an NGS panel designed for detection of actionable mutations in tumors common in Latin America. J Pers Med. 2021;11(9):899.
  7. Morash M, Mitchell H, Beltran H, Elemento O, Pathak J. The role of next-generation sequencing in precision medicine: A review of outcomes in oncology. J Pers Med. 2018;8(3):30.
  8. Sweeney SM, Cerami E, Baras A, et al. AACR Project GENIE: Powering precision medicine through an international consortium. Cancer Discov. 2017;7(8):818-31
  9. Tsimberidou AM, Iskander NG, Hong DS, et al. Personalized medicine in a phase I clinical trials program: The MD Anderson Cancer Center Initiative. Clin Cancer Res. 2012;18(22):6373-83
  10. Le DT, Durham JN, Smith KN, et al. Mismatch-repair deficiency predicts response of solid tumors to PD-1 blockade. Science. 2017;357(6349):409-13.
  11. Drilon A, Nagasubramanian R, Blake JF, et al. A next-generation TRK kinase inhibitor overcomes acquired resistance to prior TRK kinase inhibition in patients with TRK fusion-positive solid tumors. Cancer Discov. 2017;7(9);963-72.
  12. Karlovich CA, Williams PM. Clinical applications of next-generation sequencing in precision oncology. Cancer J. 2019;25(4):264-71.
  13. Caputo V, Ciardiello F, Corte C, Della M, Martini G, Troiani T, Napolitano S. Diagnostic value of liquid biopsy in the era of precision medicine: 10 years of clinical evidence in cancer. Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2023;4(1):102-15.
  14. Saldanha EF, Nicolo E, Venetis K, et al. The role of liquid biopsy as a catalyst for sustained progress in precision oncology – perspective of the young committee of the international society of liquid biopsy. J Liquid Biopsy. 2024;5:100156.
  15. Vellanki PJ, Ghosh S, Pathak A, et al. Regulatory implications of ctDNA in immuno-oncology for solid tumors. Jr Immunother Cancer. 2023;11(2):e005344.
  16. Bidard FC, Kaklamani VG, Neven P, et al. Elacestrant (oral selective estrogen receptor degrader) versus standard endocrine therapy for estrogen receptor-positive, Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Negative advanced breast cancer: results from the randomized phase III EMERALD Trial. J of Clin Oncol. 2022;40(28):32-3256.
  17. Pando-Caciano A, Trivedi R, Pauwels J, et al. Unlocking the promise of liquid biopsies in precision oncology. J Liquid Biopsy. 2024;3:100151.
  18. Fedyuk V, Erez N, Furth N, et al. Multiplexed, single-molecule, epigenetic analysis of plasma-isolated nucleosomes for cancer diagnostics. Nat Biotechnol. 2023;41(2):212–21.
  19. Bracamonte AG. Current advances in nanotechnology for the next generation of sequencing (NGS). Biosensors. 2023;13(2):260
  20. Foser S, Maiese K, Digumarthy SR, Puig-Butille JA, Rebhan C. Looking to the future of early detection in cancer: liquid biopsies, imaging, and artificial intelligence. Clin Chem. 2024;70(1):27-32.
  21. He X, Liu X, Zuo F, Shi H, Jing J. Artificial intelligence-based multi-omics analysis fuels cancer precision medicine. Semin Cancer Biol. 2023;88:187-200.
  22. Luo Y, Li Y, Fang M, et al. Multi-omics synergy in oncology: Unraveling the complex interplay of radiomic, genoproteomic, and pathological data. Intell Oncol. 2025;1(1):17–30.
  23. Raufaste-Cazavieille V, Santiago R, Droit A. Multi-omics analysis: paving the path toward achieving precision medicine in cancer treatment and immuno-oncology. Front Mol Biosci. 2022;9:962743.
  24. Mohr AE, Ortega-Santos CP, Whisner CM, et al. Navigating challenges and opportunities in multi-omics integration for personalized healthcare. Biomedicines. 2024;12(7):1496.
  25. Dong L, Lu D, Chen R, Lin Y, Zhu H, Zhang Z, et al. Proteogenomic characterization identifies clinically relevant subgroups of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Cancer Cell. 2022;40(1):70-87.e15
  26. Nusinow DP, Szpyt J, Ghandi M, et al. Quantitative proteomics of the cancer cell line Encyclopedia. Cell. 2020;180(2):387-402.e16.
  27. Bertucci F, Ng CKY, Patsouris A, et al. Genomic characterization of metastatic breast cancers. Nature. 2019;569(7757):560-4.
  28. Sun J, Zhao J, Jiang F, Wang L, Xiao Q, Han F, et al. Identification of novel protein biomarkers and drug targets for colorectal cancer by integrating human plasma proteome with genome. Genome Med. 2023;15(1):75.
  29. Li C, Sun Y, Di Yu GY, et al. Integrated omics of metastatic colorectal cancer. Cancer Cell. 2020; 38(5):734-47.e9.
  30. Knisbacher BA, Lin Z, Hahn CK, et al. Molecular map of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and its impact on outcome. Nat Genet. 2022;54(11):1664–74.
  31. Martinez-Martin N, Magnus D. Privacy and ethical challenges in next-generation sequencing. Expert Rev Precis Med Drug D. 2019;4(2):95–104.
  32. Kulkarni P, Frommolt P. (2017). Challenges in the setup of large-scale next-generation sequencing analysis workflows. Comput Struct Biotechnol J. 2017;15:471–7.
  33. Odenkirk MT, Reif DM, Baker ES. Multiomic big data analysis challenges: increasing confidence in the interpretation of artificial intelligence assessments. Anal Chem. 2021;93(22):7763–73.
  34. Molla G, Bitew M. Revolutionizing personalized medicine: synergy with multi-omics data generation, main hurdles, and future perspectives. Biomedicines. 2024;12(12):2750.
  35. Vickovic S, Magnusson J, Giacomello S, Asp M, Westholm JO, Huss M. Visualization and analysis of gene expression in tissue sections by spatial transcriptomics. Science. 2016;353:78-82.
  36. Parsons HA, Beaver JA, Park BH. Circulating plasma tumor DNA. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2016;882:259–276.
  37. Meador CB, Lovly CM. Liquid biopsies reveal the dynamic nature of resistance mechanisms in solid tumors. Nat Med. 2015;21(7):663–5.
  38. Aceto N, Bardia A, Miyamoto DT, et al. Circulating tumor cell clusters are oligoclonal precursors of breast cancer metastasis. Cell. 2014;158(5):1110–22.
  39. Chen K, Shields MD, Chauhan PS, et al. Commercial ctDNA assays for minimal residual disease detection of solid tumors. Mol Diagn Ther. 2021;25(6):757–74.
  40. Cristofanilli M, Hayes DF, Budd GT, et al. Circulating tumor cells: a novel prognostic factor for newly diagnosed metastatic breast cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2005;23(7):1420–30.
  41. Gerlinger M, Rowan AJ, Horswell S, et al. Intratumor heterogeneity and branched evolution revealed by multiregion sequencing. N Engl J Med. 2012;366(10):883–92.
  42. Ma L, Guo H, Zhao Y, et al. Liquid biopsy in cancer current: status, challenges and future prospects. Signal Transduct Target Ther. 2024;9(1):336.
  43. Wei T, Zhang Q, Li X, et al. Monitoring tumor burden in response to FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy via profiling circulating cell-free DNA in pancreatic cancer. Mol Cancer Ther. 2019;18(1):196–203.
  44. Vidanagamachchi SM, Waidyarathna KM. Opportunities, challenges and future perspectives of using bioinformatics and artificial intelligence techniques on tropical disease identification using omics data. Frontiers in Digital Health. 2024;25(6):1471200.
  45. Kimmelman J, Tannock I. The paradox of precision medicine. Nat. Rev. Clin. Oncol. 2018;15(6):341–2.
  46. D’Adamo GL, Widdop JT, Giles EM. The future is now? Clinical and translational aspects of “omics” technologies. Immunol. Cell Biol. 2021;99(2):168–76.
  47. Bilkey GA, Burns BL, Coles EP, Mahede T, Baynam G, Nowak KJ. Optimizing precision medicine for public health. Front. Public Health. 2019;7:42.
  48. Ciardiello F, Adams R, Tabernero J, et al. Awareness, understanding, and adoption of precision medicine to deliver personalized treatment for patients with cancer: A multinational survey comparison of physicians and patients. Oncologist. 2016;21:292–300.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/amma-2025-0056 | Journal eISSN: 2668-7763 | Journal ISSN: 2668-7755
Language: English
Page range: 255 - 261
Submitted on: May 28, 2025
|
Accepted on: Sep 22, 2025
|
Published on: Dec 11, 2025
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 4 issues per year

© 2025 Carolyn Muruthi, Japheth Wambani Rapando, published by University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.