October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and it highlights a disease that affects millions worldwide. In oncology, companion diagnostics (CDx) are particularly valuable because they detect cancer-specific biomarkers in patient samples and thereby guide treatment selection. They can also be used to monitor patient response to treatment. As a core element of precision medicine, CDx enable therapies to be tailored to individual patient profiles. As such, the future of precision and personalised medicine for breast cancer depends on innovation in CDx, says GlobalData.
According to GlobalData’s Pipeline Products Database, 17 active CDx for breast cancer are currently in development, with roughly 13 of those at the clinical stage. Additionally, there are currently 42 CDx products for breast cancer on the global market, according to GlobalData’s Marketed Products Database.
Selena Yu, Senior Medical Analyst, GlobalData, comments, “Greater patient data leads to better-informed treatment plans. Relevant characteristics include genetic profiles, lifestyle habits, and environmental exposures. Historically, clinicians-based diagnosis and treatment primarily on symptoms and medical history, which often resulted in a one-size-fits-all approach. Precision and personalised medicine broaden this model by integrating genetics, biomarkers, environmental factors and other individual data to enable more tailored therapeutic strategies.”
Precision medicine is most advanced in oncology, driven by the complexity of cancers and the demand for improved therapies. For example, NS Wind Down’s CDX test for Enzalutamide in triple negative breast cancer specifically looks for a biomarker, PAM50, which best responds to this treatment.
According to GlobalData’s Pipeline Products Database, the leading indications for CDx clinical stage development are non-small cell lung cancer, ovarian cancer and breast cancer. Many of these assays are multiparametric, tracking multiple biomarker types and their associations with various cancer subtypes.
Yu concludes, “Understanding a patient beyond the formal diagnosis through accounting for factors like environment and genetic background will allow healthcare professionals to deliver more comprehensive care. Because cancer is highly heterogeneous, advances in precision medicine are essential for enabling earlier detection, more effective treatment strategies, and stronger preventive measures across healthcare systems.”