[발췌] Personalized Medicine

자료 1: Personalized Medicine (U.S. News and World Report, Jan 2011 )


※ 발췌 (excerpt):

In 2003, after more than a decade of research, the Human Genome Project was completed by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institute of Health.

The goals of the Human Genome Project were to learn the order of the 3 billion units of DNA that go into making a human genome, as well as to identify all of the genes located in this vast amount of data. By 2003, almost all of the pairs of chemicals that make up the units had been put in the correct sequence—enough for a pronouncement of success. ( ... ... )

One of the early hopes of the genome project was to pinpoint specific genes that caused common diseases. Scientists now think the answer is more complex, with many diseases the result of multiple genes interacting. Nevertheless, the information garnered from the genome project has the potential to forever transform healthcare. Many believe that genome-based medicine, frequently called personalized medicine, is the future of healthcare─the next logical step in a world in which more is known about human genetics, disease, and wellness than ever before.

Of all the scientific and social promises that stem from advances in our understanding of the human genome, genomic medicine may be the most eagerly awaited. The prospect of examining a person's entire genome, or at least a large portion of it, in order to make individualized risk predictions and treatment decisions is tantalizingly within reach.

This discussion will explain the genomic basis of personalized medicine and explore its potential for good as well as its possible risks.

• What is the human genome?
• What is personalized medicine?
• Is personalized medicine only for sick people?
• How might I get my genomic profile or learn my predisposition for certain medical conditions? What things should I consider before doing so?
• Where can I look for more information about personalized medicine and genome science?

( ... ... )

자료 2: What Is Personalized Medicine? (Genome mag, ... )


( ... ... ) Call it what you will — personalized medicine, genomic medicine, precision medicine. It’s an approach that emphasizes the ways in which your disease risks are unique and different, just like your other, more obvious characteristics. Those disease risks are based on the predispositions written into your genome at birth, combined with your lifestyle and environment. In the case of cancer, the disease has its own genetic makeup, lending each tumor a unique character with unique tendencies and vulnerabilities. ( ... ... )