Companion Diagnostics: The Future of Medicine

Man’s grasp is finally catching up to his reach in the Human Genome Project. To sequence the genes of every person on the planet could mean so many things to so many people: for those in the healing profession, from nurses to biomedical engineers, it could mean personalizing the treatment of every patient they see. It could mean a reduction in unnecessary testing, adverse reactions to drugs, and spontaneous inexplicable changes in condition. Targeted drugs could be delivered to specific sites, leaving intact what should be there and destroying invading agents. What if?

Tracy Staton explores these wondrous questions and many more in her book. She provides the personal stories of ordinary people who just did not respond to the regular tests and treatments for their ailments. They needed something more: but what? And how? In Andy Hill’s case, an experimental drug intended for a difficult-to-diagnose aberrant gene not only saved his life but allowed him to return to almost full vitality. Staton highlights the famous examples of targeted drugs such as Herceptin, which has been used to treat thousands of women with HER2-positive breast cancer since its debut.

The balanced perspective offered in this unique work is both daunting and refreshing. Staton outlines the many problems with these sorts of treatments in today’s insurance company-ruled healthcare industry. Reimbursement for experimental drugs, terminology and marketing strategy are among those hurdles facing this burgeoning field. There is light at the end of the tunnel, though, and not just the light provided by the scientists working to break these boundaries: the FDA likes personalized medicine and has encouraged companion diagnostics research.

This book pursues truth and possibility in the promise of increased knowledge. These practices could change the future for all of us.