4. Priorities for Global Research and Development of Interventions

Genomic information makes possible predicting individual risks for certain diseases and to certain components of the environment. One level relates to polymorphisms in individual genes that represent intrinsic risks for certain conditions (for example, breast cancer). A second level relates to differences in the expression patterns of multiple genes on DNA chips that make it possible, for example, to distinguish melanomas from lymphomas from colon cancers or stages within these cancers that no pathologist could duplicate for accuracy. Within patterns for breast cancer or certain types of leukemia, experts can now distinguish those likely to survive five years from those with a poor prognosis and are creating the first generation of drugs effective against mutated genes causing specific cancers.

The promise of the genome is first and foremost a greater knowledge about disease, risks for disease, and mechanisms of pathogenesis. The exploitation of knowledge from the genome is just beginning, and practical ramifications and many effective products have yet to be realized. Despite the hyperbole about its promise, the genome does represent a new frontier, beyond random testing of compounds, for rational and evidence-based design of effective interventions.

Source: Authors.