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precision medicine

(pree-SIH-zhun MEH-dih-sin)
A form of medicine that uses information about a person’s genes, proteins, environment, and lifestyle to prevent, diagnose, or treat disease. In cancer, precision medicine uses specific information about a person’s tumor to help make a diagnosis, plan treatment, find out how well treatment is working, or make a prognosis. Precision medicine may also be used to help determine a person’s risk of developing certain types of cancer. Examples of precision medicine include using targeted therapies to treat specific types of cancer, such as HER2-positive breast cancer, or using tumor marker testing to help diagnose cancer. Precision medicine is sometimes called personalized medicine.
More Information
Search NCI's Dictionary of Cancer Terms