There have been remarkable strides in prevention and treatment of disease in the past 5 decades.  Few have rivaled targeted cancer therapies based on digital health, specifically genomics in scope and breadth.  I’d like to touch on a few ways in which digital technology is impacting cancer.

1. Targeted therapies. One only has to watch the avalanche of television commercials for cancer centers both local and national to appreciate the role genomics now plays in choosing therapies today for cancer. In simple terms, cancers have genetic fingerprints which are becoming specific targets of newer drugs. Different types of cancers may share similar genetic markers. Getting more layered in complexity, the same cancer may experience genetic changes during its course.  The National Cancer Institute offers a more in depth discussion of genomics and cancer.  An ambitious initiative with far-reaching implications is the National Cancer Institute’s NCI-MATCH (Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice) trial. IBM Watson Health has recently partnered with Quest Diagnostics to provide clinicians with recommended “… unbiased, evidence-based approaches based on a detailed view of the tumor’s mutations, scientific journals, and MSK’s OncoKB, a precision oncology knowledge base..” The possibilities are indeed many in this space and the use of digital tools like genomics and artificial intelligence are accelerating our knowledge and successes.

2. Registries.The traditional collection of information on cancer has been with the collection of limited data derived from patient demographics, health history and episodic office encounters. There are now digital technologies now which incorporate raw data from pathology, genomics, imaging studies, patient reported symptoms and follow-up and more. In a previous post I describe ways in which a well-designed registry can address multiple stakeholder needs. The value of an excellent tech-based registry is best appreciated in oncology and rare diseases. As someone who has a family member with a very rare cancer, I have seen first-hand the potential benefits of and resistance (primarily ‘political’) to such registries which would expedite decision-making via pooled experiences.

3. Connected care: apps: Connected care today includes such technologies as wearables and mobile health apps. Benefits of connected care include triangulating the transmission of information (among clinicians, patients and caregivers), convenience, and timeliness. Three impressive mobile apps in the oncology space are:

a. Pocket Cancer Care Guide. Helps patients and caregiver obtain information about specific cancers, understand medical terminology, builds lists of questions to ask physicians, and provides the ability to record and save clinicians’ answers to questions.

b. Cancer Side-Effects Helper by pearlpoint. “…offers trusted nutrition guidance and practical tips to help survivors feel better, maintain strength, and speed recovery from common cancer side effects…”

c. My Cancer Genome. Managed by the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, this award-winning app has both clinician and patient-facing information on cancer genomes, targeted therapies, and provides updated appropriate available clinical trials.

4. Connected clinical trials. The rising cost of clinical trials, the increasingly recognized importance of patient reported outcomes, and the transformation of trials with electronic data capture all suggest the value proposition of digital tech in clinical trials. Obtaining real-time vital sign trends, patient-reported adverse events (drug side effects/toxicities, unplanned ER or office visits), and outcomes data will make clinical trials more relevant (by recruiting a larger and more diverse patient population via digital tools), less costly and safer.

5. Social media support. The convergence of social media and healthcare was both inevitable and beneficial for patients. The advantages of online support groups over traditional in real life organizations are many. Access to information, governmental agencies, empathy, and convenience are some of them. Twitter has contributed greatly in this regard. TweetChat groups focusing  on specific diseases abound.

Critics of digital technology in healthcare raise valid issues regarding accuracy and reliability of information, privacy and security, and patient safety. There are existing regulatory guidelines addressing these, arguably not comprehensively enough.  Accurate and reliable information about cancer is available via many digital avenues. Digital technologies are an integral part of cancer diagnosis and treatment today.  We are living in an age where they might be among the most important tools we have as clinicians, patients, and caregivers. Hats off to those dreamers who make it possible!