“Until now, the FDA has approved cancer treatments based on where in the body the cancer started – for example, lung or breast cancers. We have now approved a drug based on a tumor’s biomarker without regard to the tumor’s original location.” From Scientific American: FDA Clears First Cancer Drug Based on Genetics of Disease.

+ Genomics and big data could provide dramatic leaps forward in our ability to fight diseases such as cancer. But there’s a potential obstacle. It has to do with punishing people with pre-existing conditions. DJ Patil, former Chief Data Scientist for the U.S. (and all around smart, great guy), lays it out: “At the genetic level, everyone of us has a preexisting condition. Our genes are preexisting conditions waiting to be triggered. Some good. Some bad. This is what makes us unique. It’s what makes us human.
But we, as a country, can’t enter the genomic revolution if there is even a remote threat of our genetic or genomic information being used against us.”