Overview of the development of personalized genomic medicine and surgery.

Abstract

Personalized genomic medicine and surgery (PGMS) represents a new approach to health care that customizes patients' medical treatment according to their own genetic information. This new approach is the result of increased knowledge of the human genome and ways this information can be applied by physicians in the medical and surgical management of their patients. A patient's genotype can yield important information concerning disease susceptibility and the effectiveness of medications, therefore guiding specific, targeted imaging and treatment therapies. This review summarizes major achievements of human genomic studies and applications of genomics in health care. Five years ago we developed a model for the development of PGMS in which genomic profile guides choice of therapy. In this article we discussed our progress, including an updating of the model, and a future vision of PGMS.