Is there a role of Eastern Europe in cancer biomarkers for personalized cancer medicine

Personalized medicine (PM) is considered the medicine of the future, presenting the first concept in creating a patient-specific tailored therapy. With this new approach, the new “cascade“ of methods and applications developed in molecular biology over the past 10 years will play a significant role. Different options in the genomic and proteomic characterization of each patient has presented new challenges in cancer therapy. Are we going to use different treatments for diseases displaying similarities? Are we going to use similar treatments for patients with different cancers but similar molecular profiles? Personalized medicine can identify those patients who are the most suitable for a specific drug or medication. However, the context matters as well, as it helps to identify resistant diseases and patients who will not respond to the therapy. Consequently, patients will suffer no side effects with full therapy effectiveness. Finally, the purpose of this new concept of personalized medicine is to develop therapies that will significantly improve patients’ outcomes. Why Eastern Europe? Although part of Europe, Romania faces problems due to financial constraints. One of the major disadvantages is diagnosing cancer cases at advanced stages, including cervicalvica cancer (already eradicated in US or Western Europe), as well as cancers of the breast, colon, prostate, bladder, ovary, thyroid, gastric and lungs. One of the major challenges in oncology in Eastern Europewill be early diagnosis, followed by an individualized, tailored care of cancer patients. We have to underline the major role of cancer biomarkers for personalized medicine if we consider as compulsory that Eastern Europe is a part of this future. Personalized medicine is based on the concept that cancer medicine is able to develop a number of technologies such as genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics to acquire data at molecular level about DNA, RNA and the proteins of the patients. In addition, PM would be capable of acquiring functional imaging modifications and identifying high risk patients. More research is is needed to focuson the identification and validation of cancer biomarkers from different molecules and structures: miRNA, long non-coding RNAs, or CpG epigenetic modifications. Specific approaches to molecular classification of cancer biomarkers like claudin-low breast cancer, Her2 positive breast cancer, basal-like breast cancer, hereditary gynecological cancers, BRCA1 and 2 mutations, miRnome profile, K-Ras, EGFR, BRAF V600, and bcr-abl mutations are just some well known biomarkers in cancer. The Oncology Institute Ion Chiricuta in Cluj Napoca, Romania is the most important cancer unit in Transylvania and perhaps the most important in Romania. However, the Institute still needs to open itsd doors to outstanding researchers and practitioners in oncology. Scientists who have contributed their research at several conferences and workshops with European societies have created an opening for future international cooperation.