Médecine sciences : M/S
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Médecine sciences : M/S · Mar 2012
Review[Health care expenditures linked to the use of targeted therapies and diagnostic tests for cancer patients].
Recent advances in cancer research have led to the development of very expensive new drugs for cancer treatment: the targeted therapies. However, the introduction of these new therapeutic agents which costs are increasing could threaten the diffusion of these innovations. ⋯ In this paper, we present current estimates of health care expenditures linked to the use of targeted therapies for cancer care. We also discuss some of the issues related to the regulatory decisions (pricing and reimbursement) concerning the test/drug couple.
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Médecine sciences : M/S · Mar 2012
Review[How to share results of clinical trials with study participants?].
Informing research participants of the results of clinical trials in which they were enrolled is in agreement with patients' rights and human dignity; such feedback is considered an ethical standard applied to clinical research. Cancer patients who participate in a clinical trial usually want to know the results. ⋯ We describe some of the dilemma and intertwining between clinical care and clinical research. We highlight how the standardisation of sharing such results to participants could raise difficulties particularly for the relationship between doctor and patients.
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Médecine sciences : M/S · Mar 2012
Review[The emergence and development of gene expression profiling: a key component of the 3B (bench, bedside, bytes) in translational research].
This paper examines the emergence and development of one of the key components of genomics, namely gene expression profiling. It does so by resorting to computer-based methods to analyze and visualize networks of scientific publications. ⋯ The article also outlines the essential role played by novel bioinformatics and biostatistical tools in the development of the domain. These computational disciplines thus qualify as one of the three corners (in addition to the laboratory and the clinic) of the translational research triangle.
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Genomics of breast cancer is paving the way towards more and more tailored treatments. The number of molecularly targeted therapies under development is increasing. In parallel, the high-throughput analyses revealed the molecular heterogeneity of disease, and identified several very different molecular subtypes, numerous and sometimes very scarce molecular alterations, and multigenic signatures predictive for clinical outcome, some of which are being tested in prospective clinical trials. This molecular segmentation of breast cancer and the multitude of new drugs to be tested (alone and in combination) lead to develop clinical trials based on the molecular profile of tumors to guide the patient towards the most suitable drug.