Precision Oncology-Based Targeting of Signaling Pathways Toward a Holistic Approach to Cancer Therapeutics

The mutational changes occurring in the regulatory genes responsible for the maintenance of optimal cell growth and proliferation gradually lead to cancer progression and metastasis. The specific roles played by some of the molecules associated with cell signaling and others in the cell microenvironment that often induce oncogenesis have been understood in detail in the past decades based on findings of the human genome project and other related initiatives undertaken afterward to thoroughly understand the molecular basis of cancer cell behaviors. It is to rely upon the genomic study of cancer cells to get a clear idea of the prognosis and pathways involved in disease progression and to look for the means to selectively target them for a cure. Furthermore, patients with the same cancer types often respond differently to different cancer therapies, indicating the need for a patient-specific treatment regimen for the disease. To this end, precision oncology is the new field of cancer research that relies on molecular profiling of individual's tumor to identify targetable alterations for custom-tailored personalized treatment of the disease. Furthermore, the emerging field of single cell technology has now enabled scientists study genomics, proteomics and related interactions at the level of a single cell in a bulk population of cells which can be successfully exploited to decipher tissue heterogeneity associated with cancer development. This article intends to briefly explain the foundations and frontiers of precision oncology in the context of recent advances in cancer genomics and single-cell technologies for assessing its scope and importance in the realization of a proper cure for cancer.