Cancer diagnostics and treatment: are we ready to implement PPPM?

Abstract

The scientific community is always excited whenever a new journal appears in the open scientific literature. Such was the case when the first issue of the EPMA Journal of International Reviews in Predictive, Preventive and Personalized Medicine (PPPM) appeared in 2010.This present issue focuses on PPPM in Cancer, and it contains a spectrum of topics that covers the range from basic research, via clinical research, to potential implementation. Each review focuses on one or a reasonable combination of the three main topics embodied in the EPMA journal, and highlights the predictive, preventive, and personalized aspects of cancer treatment. It is clear from the scientific literature, in general, and in each one of the reviews in this issue, in particular, that the next quantum leap in clinical science now derives explicitly from one or more of those three features of medicine: accurate prediction, efficacious prevention, and detailed personalized treatment. The objective of this journal and of this issue on cancer is to present state-of-the-art results from researchers from around the world, and to provide timely reviews of cutting-edge basic research, clinical research, and clinical results. The reviews will range from the molecular level (DNA, RNA, proteins, metabolites), the cellular level, clinical research, and clinical practice.A brief overview follows of each topic that appears in this current issue of PPPM in Cancer. These reviews cover the following areas of research: the "First Do No Harm" concept; the shift from correlative to predictive oncology; selenium and oxidative stress in cancer; BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations; a proposal for non-invasive proteomics in breast cancer; gene-expression profiling in breast cancer; proteomics and nitroproteomics of pituitary adenomas; epidemiological analysis of gastric adenocarcinomas; endoscopic diagnosis for the early detection of gastrointestinal cancer; fluoropyrimidine toxicity and polymorphisms of the dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase gene; and circulating DNA and RNA.

Body mass index–based predictions and personalized clinical strategies for colorectal cancer in the context of PPPM

“…The application of BMI neither includes medical testing procedures, breaches patient privacy, nor endangers the patient’s body in any way. To meet the need for more multidimensional healthcare, the PPPM paradigm is widely used in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer [ 11 , 12 ]. Under standardized medicine, BMI is often used only as a general stratification factor.…”