With the emergence of high-throughput discovery platforms, robust preclinical small-animal models, and efficient clinical trial pipelines, it is becoming possible to envision a time when the treatment of human neurologic diseases will become personalized. The emergence of precision medicine will require the identification of subgroups of patients most likely to respond to specific biologically based therapies. This stratification only becomes possible when the determinants that contribute to disease heterogeneity become more fully elucidated. This review discusses the defining factors that underlie disease heterogeneity relevant to the potential for individualized brain tumor (optic pathway glioma) treatments arising in the common single-gene cancer predisposition syndrome, neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). In this regard, NF1 is posited as a model genetic condition to establish a workable paradigm for actualizing precision therapeutics for other neurologic disorders. Neurology ® 2014;83:463-471 GLOSSARY cAMP 5 cyclic adenosine monophosphate; GEM 5 genetically engineered mouse; GWAS 5 genome-wide association studies; mTOR 5 mammalian target of rapamycin; NF1 5 neurofibromatosis type 1; NSC 5 neural stem cell; OPG 5 optic pathway glioma; PA 5 pilocytic astrocytoma; RGC 5 retinal ganglion cell.Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is one of the most common monogenic disorders in which affected individuals develop benign and malignant tumors.1 NF1 impacts 1:2,500 people worldwide, and individuals with NF1 are prone to the development of peripheral (neurofibromas, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors) and central (optic pathway glioma, malignant glioma) nervous system tumors.2,3 Similar to other autosomal dominant cancer predisposition syndromes, 4,5 people with NF1 start life with a germline mutation in one copy of the NF1 tumor suppressor gene; however, tumors require somatic (acquired) inactivation of the remaining functional NF1 allele, leading to complete loss of NF1 expression in specific cell types.6,7 For example, complete Nf1 gene inactivation in neuroglial 8,9 or Schwann cell 10,11 progenitors is required for murine optic glioma or neurofibroma formation, respectively.With the development of numerous accurate small-animal (genetically engineered mouse; GEM) models of NF1-associated nervous system tumors ( the stage has been set for the discovery and validation of promising therapeutic strategies and their translation to people affected with NF1. However, despite these advances, there are currently no effective therapies, which likely reflects the striking biological and clinical heterogeneity inherent to this condition. This review uses NF1-associated brain tumors (optic glioma) as an illustrative platform to discuss the barriers and challenges to developing and implementing effective targeted therapies.NF1-ASSOCIATED OPTIC PATHWAY GLIOMA NF1-associated optic pathway gliomas (NF1-OPGs) are largely pediatric tumors typically arising in children younger than 7 years of age. 21,22 As such, 15%-20% of child...