Personalized Medicine in Oncology: Experts Call for Patient-Centered Innovation and Better Communication at ISLB and ASCO Meetings
Key Insights
Professor Massimo Cristofanilli (search) emphasizes that implementation barriers, healthcare system readiness, and economic considerations continue to slow widespread adoption of personalized medicine in cancer care.
Patient advocates and clinicians at the IAPM Oncology Pillar Launch stress that innovation must ultimately improve patient lives, with Steven Manobianco Jr. stating "to personalize, there must be a person involved."
William Gradishar highlights the critical need for clear communication, noting that scientific excellence alone is insufficient if patients cannot understand the language used.
The promise of personalized medicine in oncology continues to advance, yet significant barriers to widespread clinical adoption persist, according to leading experts who gathered at two major international meetings in recent months. In conversations recorded during the International Society of Liquid Biopsy (search) (ISLB) meeting in Pompei and the International Alliance for Personalized Medicine (search) (IAPM) Oncology Pillar Launch at ASCO in Chicago, clinicians, researchers, and patient advocates offered candid assessments of both the opportunities and obstacles facing precision oncology.
Professor Massimo Cristofanilli (search), MD, FACP, Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine and a pioneer in liquid biopsy, addressed the complex challenges that continue to slow personalized medicine's integration into routine clinical practice. As Co-founder and Former President of ISLB and current President of the Precision Medicine Action for Cancer (PMAC) Consortium, Cristofanilli has been instrumental in transforming how cancer is understood, diagnosed, and monitored.
In his interview with IAPM, Cristofanilli explored "the promise of personalized medicine and the opportunities it offers for delivering more precise, patient-centered care," while also discussing "some of the challenges that continue to slow its widespread adoption, including implementation barriers, healthcare system readiness, and the economic considerations surrounding innovative diagnostics and treatments."
The IAPM acknowledged the complexity of these issues, noting that "these are not simple questions, nor are there simple answers. But they are exactly the conversations that healthcare leaders, policymakers, clinicians, researchers and patients need to have if we are to make personalized medicine a reality for all."
Patient-Centered Care: The Core Principle
At the IAPM Oncology Pillar Launch and Hackathon held during ASCO in Chicago, a unifying message emerged from discussions with clinicians, researchers, policymakers, and patient advocates: innovation holds value only when it improves the lives of those it is designed to serve.
Steven Manobianco Jr. captured this sentiment succinctly: "To personalize, there must be a person involved." The IAPM emphasized that personalized medicine extends "far more than biomarkers, AI or precision diagnostics. It is about understanding the individual behind the diagnosis, involving patients as partners in decisions, and ensuring their needs, preferences and experiences remain at the centre of care."
The Communication Imperative
William Gradishar highlighted a critical barrier to patient engagement: the gap between scientific language and patient comprehension. "It doesn't matter what the topic is. If you're talking a language that no one understands, you're not going to resonate with anybody," Gradishar stated. The IAPM reinforced this point, asserting that "scientific excellence alone is not enough. If we want patients to participate, trust and benefit from innovation, we must communicate in ways that are clear, meaningful and accessible. Scientists, clinicians and policymakers must also become better storytellers."
Equity and Access Across Healthcare Systems
Marzia Del Re drew attention to structural challenges that extend beyond the clinic, emphasizing that "accessibility, harmonisation and equitable implementation across healthcare systems remain essential if personalized medicine is to reach everyone who could benefit."
The IAPM articulated its belief that these challenges are "deeply connected," arguing that "better science must be matched by better communication, stronger collaboration and a healthcare system designed around people, not just technologies."
The organization reaffirmed its foundational principle: "Personalized medicine begins with one simple principle: to personalize, there must be a person involved."