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Cancer treatment has never been simple. Even when two people have the same type of cancer, their tumors may behave differently, respond differently, and carry other genetic changes that influence which treatments are most likely to help.
That is where precision medicine is changing the conversation.
Instead of relying only on where a cancer started, precision medicine uses information about the biology of a person’s cancer to guide treatment decisions. Through biomarker testing, tumor profiling, and genomic testing, clinicians may be able to identify the mutations, proteins, or other markers that are helping a cancer grow.
Those insights can help answer one of the most important questions in oncology: Which treatment is most likely to work for this person?
In a year when the American Cancer Society projects more than 2.1 million new cancer diagnoses in the United States, the need for more precise and personalized cancer treatment is urgent. Better treatment decisions can help patients and their care teams avoid unnecessary trial and error, consider targeted therapies or immunotherapies when appropriate, and make more informed choices at critical moments in care. (American Cancer Society, 2026)
Precision medicine, also called personalized medicine, is an approach to care that tailors prevention, diagnosis, and treatment to the genes, proteins, and other biological information in a person’s body. In cancer treatment, that often means using biomarker testing to look for features of a cancer that may influence which therapies are most likely to work. (National Cancer Institute)
Biomarker testing may also be called:
These tests are different from hereditary cancer risk testing. Hereditary testing looks for inherited gene changes a person was born with that may increase cancer risk. Tumor profiling looks at the cancer itself, often searching for changes that developed in the tumor and may help guide treatment.
Both types of testing can be important, but they answer different clinical questions.
Together, these insights can support more personalized cancer treatment across prevention, treatment planning, medication decisions, and long-term monitoring.
Traditional cancer treatment decisions often begin with the cancer type, stage, pathology, and a person’s overall health. These remain essential. Precision medicine adds another layer: the cancer’s molecular profile.
This matters because some cancers are driven by specific genetic changes. When they are found, they may point to treatments designed to target that pathway. The National Cancer Institute notes that biomarker testing can help identify whether certain targeted therapies or immunotherapies may work for a person’s cancer. It can also help identify clinical trials that enroll patients based on biomarkers rather than cancer location. (National Cancer Institute)
In practical terms, genomic profiling may help clinicians:
Precision medicine does not guarantee that a specific treatment will work. Cancer can be complex, and may not have an actionable biomarker. Even when a match is found, the treatment may not be appropriate because of cancer stage, prior therapies, patient health, access, insurance coverage, or other clinical factors.
When translated into actionable insights, this data enables highly tailored treatment strategies.
The benefits of precision oncology are becoming more measurable.
One recent example is the randomized phase 2 ROME trial, published in Nature Medicine in 2025. The study screened 1,794 people with advanced solid tumors, selected 897 for genomic review by a molecular tumor board, and ultimately assigned 400 participants to receive either genetically matched therapy or standard care. (Nature Medicine, 2025)
Patients who received genomically matched therapy had:
These findings are especially meaningful because the trial included people with advanced cancers that had already progressed after prior treatment. It also showed the value of molecular tumor boards, where oncologists, geneticists, pathologists, and other experts review complex genomic findings and help translate them into treatment options.
One common assumption is that a more targeted treatment always means fewer side effects. The reality is more nuanced.
Targeted therapies are designed to interfere with specific proteins that help cancer cells grow, divide, and spread. Because they are more specific than traditional chemotherapy, they may reduce some forms of toxicity for some patients. But they can still cause serious side effects, and they vary depending on the drug and the person receiving it. (National Cancer Institute)
Common targeted therapy side effects may include:
This is why precision medicine side effects should be part of the treatment conversation from the beginning. The goal is not simply to find a treatment that matches a mutation, it is to understand the likely benefits, risks, monitoring needs, and alternatives so the patient and physician can make the best possible decision.
Effective personalized cancer treatment involves selecting a path that fits the cancer’s biology, the patient’s unique needs, and the specific clinical moment.
The science behind precision medicine is moving quickly, but access is not always keeping pace.
Some patients never receive genomic profiling. Others receive testing too late, after their health has declined or treatment options have narrowed. Insurance coverage, provider workflow, tissue availability, testing logistics, and interpretation challenges can all affect whether precision oncology becomes part of real-world care.
A systematic review found that 71% of health plans reviewed were more restrictive than National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for multigene panel testing. That kind of gap can leave patients without the information their physicians need to build the most informed treatment plan. (Closing the gap in tumor testing)
This is where navigation matters. Oncology Nurse Navigators remove the logistical hurdles of advanced care. They coordinate the collection of blood or tissue samples, track down the lab results, and ensure the right information gets to the doctors exactly when they need it to make treatment decisions.
At Kadance, precision medicine is part of a broader commitment to making health more personal, proactive, and informed.
For members facing cancer, Kadance helps coordinate access to advanced diagnostics, supports communication between patients and clinicians, and brings expert guidance into complex decision-making moments. That support can be especially important when the next step depends on understanding cancer biology, available treatments, medication risks, or clinical trial options.
Precision medicine is changing cancer treatment decisions because it helps move care away from one-size-fits-all assumptions and toward a more informed understanding of each person’s cancer. Rather than replacing the physician’s judgment, precision medicine strengthens the clinical conversation.
And for patients and families navigating a diagnosis, that clarity can make a meaningful difference.