Precision Oncology vs Personalised Medicine: — Are They the Same Thing?

These overlap but are not the same thing. Personalised medicine is the broader principle — treatment should fit the individual, not just the diagnosis. Precision oncology is a specific, molecularly driven part of that: it uses biomarker testing to match your tumour to a treatment designed for its particular biology. An oncologist building a personalised plan will consider your molecular results alongside your general health, other conditions, and your own priorities. Precision oncology is specifically what comes from the laboratory results.

Targeted therapy is the treatment you receive when precision oncology finds a match. Precision oncology is the process — testing, matching, and selecting. Targeted therapy is the drug that results from that process. Testing may conclude that no targeted drug applies to your tumour, in which case a different treatment is recommended. The two terms point at different things: the process, and the drug.

The most common test is next-generation sequencing, which analyses your tumour's DNA for mutations. Other tests look for specific proteins — PD-L1, HER2 — or for characteristics such as microsatellite instability and tumour mutational burden. Which tests are ordered depends on your cancer type; your oncologist will know which markers are relevant for your specific diagnosis. Testing is usually done on tissue from a biopsy you have already had, so a new procedure is not typically needed.

No. It depends on finding a molecular change in the tumour that a treatment can target, and not all tumours have one. For some cancer types — including certain lung, breast, colorectal and kidney cancers — targetable changes are found in a meaningful proportion of patients. For others, the approach is less established. Being told precision oncology does not apply to you is not a comment on your prognosis; it means your tumour's molecular profile does not match an available targeted treatment, and a different approach is the better fit.

No — they are different approaches that are sometimes used together. Immunotherapy works by releasing the brakes on your immune system so it can recognise cancer cells. Precision oncology uses molecular profiling to match your tumour to a drug designed for its specific changes, which is often a targeted therapy rather than an immunotherapy. Some patients receive both. Immunotherapy is itself sometimes selected through precision testing — PD-L1 expression, for instance, helps predict who will respond — but the two are not the same thing.

Yes. Biomarker testing and molecularly targeted treatments are available in India, and CDSCO has approved a growing number of targeted drugs. Molecular profiling is included in tumour workups for cancer types where it is indicated. The availability of specific drugs depends on local approval and, in some cases, whether a clinical trial is open for a particular molecular change. Your oncologist will advise which tests and treatments are accessible in your situation and whether a trial is worth exploring.

Cost varies considerably depending on which tests are ordered. A panel looking at one or two specific markers is less expensive than comprehensive next-generation sequencing, which reads many genes at once. These are indicative figures that change over time and between laboratories; your care team can give you a current estimate before testing is ordered. Some tests are covered under insurance for specific indications — ask your team whether prior authorisation from your insurer is worth seeking before the sample is sent.

Ask three things: whether biomarker testing has been done or is recommended for your cancer type; what the results showed and which treatments they point to; and whether any targeted therapies or clinical trials are open for your specific molecular change. If testing has already been done, ask for the results in writing — the report will list any mutations found and whether matched treatments exist. If testing has not been done, ask whether it is indicated and what the expected turnaround time is.