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The International Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand
Volume XI - 2019

Cancer Precision Medicine

and Ethnic Diversity

Manop Pithukpakorn 1

Abstract

Cancer is an undeniable example to demonstrate the benefit of precision
medicine in diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Genomic diversity and
molecular variability found in each patient are used for most suitable treatment
and prevention regimens. It is noticeable that several differences exist among
cancers in various ethnicities, which in part is contributed by genetic diversity.
This article presents the examples in three major cancer types that genome
landscape differs by ethnic groups especially Asian. Further works to enhance
genome studies of under-represented populations is necessary to ensure
successful clinical implementation of cancer precision medicine.

Keywords: Asian; cancer; gene; genome; genomics race; Thailand precision
medicine

Precision medicine is an emerging paradigm for disease diagnosis,
treatment and prevention that takes individual genetic and molecular variability,

environmental and lifestyle difference of each person into account. Contrary to
“one-size-fits-all” approach, precision medicine will allow doctors and researchers
to predict more accurately which treatment and prevention strategies for a disease
will work in which patients.

The best demonstration of beneficial effect from precision medicine is
cancer. Oncogenic genome alteration is the major factor that causes normal cells
to acquire cancerous phenotypes including abnormal cell growth, invasiveness
and metastasis. Better understanding in cancer genomics leads to new types of
cancer diagnostic tests and several novel drugs which are designed to target

1 Department of Medicine, Siriraj Center of Research Excellence in Precision Medicine, Siriraj
Genomics, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University

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