Although the fanfare following last week's Precision Medicine Initiative one-year-after-launch checkup is not likely to taper off for some time, new research suggests it might be awhile before the tech behind precision medicine is ready to deliver real results.
A study published in Genome Medicine found that, despite significant advances in genome sequencing, one out of five medically important genes still presents a challenge for scientists. These genetic codes will need to be cracked before precision medicine can reach its full potential, according to the authors.
"As this technology moves from the research lab to the clinic, we need to be able to accurately and reliably sequence entire genomes, because incorrect sequence information can lead to inappropriate medical care," Rachel Goldfeder, a Stanford (Calif.) University PhD student and lead study author, said in a statement. "The good news is that, in this case, 77 percent of the donor's genome was reliably sequenced using current methods. The challenge now is to focus our efforts on the other 23 percent — namely, on regions of the genome that remain elusive. Only then can we realize the full potential of precision medicine."
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