Upcoming battles in the war on cancer.

The vision has been clear for more than a decade: Some day, a cancer patient will have her germline DNA decoded and compared with the genetic material in her tumor cells. Treatment will be based on the molecular make-up of the tumor, not its organ of origin. To that end, researchers around the world have made extraordinary discoveries and scientific advances. They have unmasked oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes for targeted therapy, improved preclinical models of disease, developed monoclonal antibodies to harness the body’s immune system in attacking tumors, and turned to nanoparticles to deliver a toxic payload to cancer cells. Survival rates have improved, but cancer’s heterogeneity and the inability of most therapies to produce a durable response have stymied the adoption of personalized medicine. As the University of Chicago’s Michael Maitland, MD, PhD, and Richard Schilsky, MD, wrote in a November article (CA Cancer J Clin 2011;61:365–81), “Although we savor the promise of a new era of personalized oncology, we are more transitioning to that era than truly there.” Aside from a steady infusion of cash for research and innovative treatments, what will it take for personalized medicine to become the standard in cancer care in the next 10 years? Experts offer numerous answers to that question, but many of their responses hit three broad themes: rethinking and rebuilding clinical trials, raising the bar on data sharing and standardization, and assembling multidisciplinary teams to make sense of the data. Upcoming Battles in the war on Cancer