The Personalization of Therapy: Molecular Profiling Technologies and Their Application

Advances in tumor biology and human genetics that have identified driver events and critical dependencies, together with the development of drugs for specific targets, hold promise for an era of personalized oncology treatment. The efficacy of targeted therapies in patient populations selected for treatment on the basis of the molecular features of their tumors is shifting the current practice, and molecular profiling of patients to support clinical decision-making is becoming part of the everyday clinical practice in oncology. Actionable biomarkers are those that allow matching patients to specific therapies. Currently, there is a strong need to have accurate and reliable means of identifying these biomarkers. With the evolution of biotechnology and the advent of next-generation sequencing, platforms for molecular analysis have quickly evolved, allowing a high degree of multiplexing that aims to transform the use of targeted therapies in oncology. This article aims to summarize the different biomarker applications and discuss the current challenges along with the major technologies presently used in clinical practice.