Approaching personalized cancer medicine

In general, the translation of advances in biomedical research into innovative and personalized approaches for cancer treatment is rising on the agenda of translational and clinical cancer research, biomedical industries and healthcare systems around the world. Cancer therapies are changing, gradually moving away from the administration of cytotoxic drugs towards specific therapies that are targeted to each tumour. To facilitate this shift, molecular tests need to be developed to identify those patients at risk who require therapy and those who most likely benefit from certain therapies.