The most common cancer types comprise only 40% or less of the overall cancer burden.

The remaining majority is made up of over 50 types of cancer.

Personalised medicine in cancer care means that every patient is treated as an individual, with their treatment modified according to their particular characteristics. This is not new, and St Vincent’s Hospital has built their outstanding reputation on delivering high quality, personalised cancer care.

What is new however is our ability to measure the differences between individuals at a molecular level. This means that we can sub-group, or sub-stratify patients in a more meaningful way, with the potential to identify targeted therapeutics to match their individual genetic profile. In the case of cancer, this approach represents a major way forward in personalising the cancer treatment of individual patients.

Personalised cancer medicine is an area of exploration that, outside Australia, has been increasingly integrated into mainstream medicine. There is clear evidence in other countries including the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands that this approach to healthcare has significant economic advantages that will ensure sustainability and equity as the cost of health care continues to increase. This is based on the knowledge that therapeutics offer benefit only to subgroups of patients, and that avoiding the use of ineffective therapies has significant health and cost advantages.

The Kinghorn Cancer Centre is Australia’s opportunity to advance personalised medicine, placing the patient at the centre of cancer research and cancer care. With advances in our understanding of cancer, The Kinghorn Cancer Centre provides patients and clinicians in metropolitan, regional and rural Australia, with access to a knowledge bank providing the most up to date information globally, linking molecular information and treatment responses to better inform treatment decisions.