A recent Cell article got me thinking about the meeting of personalized medicine and whole genome sequencing. The future is starting to become clear. We are moving to an age where the genetic underpinning of many diseases and disorders will start to become understood. At the same time, the pharmaceutical industry is exhausting the low hanging fruit of drug targets. Personalized medicine is one of the major alternative options, whether this entails extremely specific drugs or better tailored drug regimes. These two movements are intrinsically linked, yet the article takes a very simplified viewpoint on how this affects physician relations with the data.
The bioinformatic analysis of the data necessitates a new discipline of medical specialization. One where the specialist works on data interpretation and what that means to patient care. Interpreting whole genome sequencing correctly to determine the underlying genotype is not a plug and play affair - at least not yet. The intertwining of drug regime and genetic knowledge is the paradigm for personalized medicine, but this is a complex matter. Like wtih a pathologist, medicine needs to introduce a new discipline of bioinformatic medical doctors. Someone capable of handle and interpreting the volume of data whole genome sequencing (or other high throughput data) provides. The specialist works in concert with the primary clinician to provide the best specialized care possible.
Personalized medicine has been on the horizon for a long time, but its time does approach. The medical field must be prepared for when that time comes.
