What is Precision Medicine?

  The women pushing frontiers in precision medicine: (left to right) top row: Claire Bellis, Foo Jia Nee, Li Jingmei; second row: Marie Loh, Neerja Karnani, Sonia Davila, Yasmin Bylstra. In celebration of International Women’s Month, meet seven women who are advancing precision medicine in Singapore.   Across social, economic and political spheres, diversity and […]

  From early insights into regional variations in drug response to an ambitious transnational project to consolidate genomic data, 2021 saw advances in precision medicine across the board.    Nearly twenty years after the human genome was first sequenced, advances in genomics research have grown by leaps and bounds. Aided in part by the shrinking […]

  By analysing vast amounts of biomedical data, bioinformaticians play a crucial role in translating insights to clinical impact in precision medicine, says Assistant Professor Lim Weng Khong, Director of Bioinformatics at the SingHealth Duke-NUS Genomic Medicine Centre.   When it comes to data, our genetic codes are a veritable treasure trove. According to the […]

  Patient-empowering approaches like genetic counselling could help usher in the era of precision oncogenomics, say experts at the inaugural Hereditary Cancer Symposium organised by Tan Tock Seng Hospital.   Prevention is better than cure. That may be a commonly heard refrain and one that seems to embody the very concept of genetic counselling: using […]

  The largest meta-analysis of people of East Asian origin to date is adding to a growing genetics resource on type 2 diabetes and bolstering precision medicine efforts in the region.   In the early 20th century, diabetes was a death sentence, leaving sufferers an average of just one year to live. But in 1921, […]

  Scientists find two novel gene mutations that could explain overly muscular hearts in Asian populations, paving the way for early and accurate detection through precision medicine.   In the time of rising cardiac disease, who wouldn’t want a strong heart? But as the adage goes, too much of a good thing can also be […]

  From breast cancer screening to treatment selection, advances in precision diagnostics can pave the way towards more accurate predictions about clinical conditions and more effective care.   With Breast Cancer Awareness month commemorated every October, the pink ribbon has become a well-recognised symbol to urge the public to undergo breast cancer screening. In 2002, […]

  Understanding the public’s perception of the terms ‘personalised medicine’ and ‘precision medicine’ can help governments build more effective national precision medicine programmes.   The completion of the Human Genome Project in 2001 laid the groundwork for a tailored approach to medicine—one where patients are diagnosed and treated based on genetic, biological, environmental and lifestyle […]

  Two start-ups are using precision oncology to transform cancer medicine in Singapore and provide better outcomes for patients.   From 2014 and 2018, nearly 75,000 Singaporeans1 were newly diagnosed with cancer. Such a surge in cases represents the country’s largest uptick in the last five decades—and foreshadows what looms ahead. But Singapore is prepared. […]

  Precision oncology removes the guesswork in cancer care and allows doctors to tailor treatment to individual patients.   For every White person of European descent with natural killer T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL), up to five Asians will be diagnosed with the same disease. Though aggressive, NKTCL is typically a rare type of cancer, so its […]