Patient navigation and cancer disparities in the era of personalized medicine

摘要

The advent of personalized, or individualized, approaches to cancer is upon us, as robust molecular and genetic markers are identified and utilized by medical practitioners in the decision-making process. Indeed, personalized strategies are already becoming the standard of care for some cancers under certain circumstances, including colorectal cancer. Despite the increasing utility of personalized cancer care in improving outcomes and benefiting the patient community, there is a potential downside. Similar to most technical advances in health, personalized approaches may not be equally accessible across racial and ethnic groups, widening existing disparities in cancer incidence and outcomes among these groups. The time may be right to consider patient navigation, already broadly implemented in a variety of medical arenas, as a potential tool to inhibit, and indeed reverse, disparate cancer outcomes, including those related to colorectal cancer.