Is individualized medicine the future of the medical industry? Research Project B

Individual medicine gained increasing popularity in the medical industry in the past years. Especially oncology plays a major role in individual medicine, as significant research has been done in this area in the last decade. In order to provide individual treatment to patients, individualized medicine in cancer therapy uses molecular genetic examination of blood or tumor tissue. This paper discusses individual treatment approaches for the selected diseases of prostate cancer and leukemia. Individual medicine in prostate cancer is still considered to be in its infancy whereas in leukemia it is already advanced. Conventional treatment in prostate cancer is highly standardized and well-developed and thus, individual approaches in PCa are not yet well-established or well-researched. Therefore, the relevance of individual treatments in prostate cancer is still to be discussed. In contrast to that leukemia has a promising future in the area of individualized medicine. However, individualized treatments are still very expensive and health insurances only cover a limited amount of financial expenses. As genetic testing is becoming more significant and is likely to be used more often in the future, the cost for individual treatments are expected to decrease over time. Also, this paper suggests future implications for the application of individual medicine in Germany in the areas of health care promotion, disease prevention and disease management until the year 2030. Highlights of the paper: • Individual medicine in leukemia is already well-established, however necessity of individual approaches in prostate cancer is discussed • Individual medicine is currently very cost-intensive but increases the quality of life and the lifespan. • In order to implement individual medicine in the future it is anticipated to improve health care promotion, disease prevention and disease management