• François Thomas, Christine Desmedt, Philippe Aftimos, and Ahmad Awada.
• aThomas Conseil SPRL bBreast Cancer Translational Research Laboratory, Institut Jules Bordet cDepartment of Medicine, Medical Oncology Clinic, Institut Jules Bordet and Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
• Curr Opin Oncol. 2014 May 1; 26 (3): 347-56.

Purpose Of ReviewNext generation sequencing (NGS) allows the rapid analysis of genomes and has brought invaluable information on cancer biology and drug targets. Laboratories have started to provide NGS data to physicians to aid in the prescription of targeted drugs. The review presents the recent clinical experience with NGS.Recent FindingsClinical studies support the potential of NGS to tailor the treatment of patients to alterations in their cancer genome in a process called precision medicine. Case reports, analyses of early phase trials, and series of lung cancer patients have recently shown superior outcome for the matching of drug to specific molecular alterations. NGS is also useful to detect germline mutations associated with hereditary cancers.SummaryNGS and other molecular technologies are transforming the practice of medical oncology and clinical research. Sequencing of primary tumors, metastases, or blood-derived circulating tumor DNA has great potential to guide individualized cancer treatment. However, the integration of NGS as a breakthrough technology is associated with operational challenges such as information processing, medical education and interpretation, and reimbursement.

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