Because researchers and clinicians at The Ohio State University understand that no two cancers are alike and that there is no routine cancer, their approach to treating this disease differs from how cancers were treated years ago. In the past, cancers were characterized solely by their location – breast, lung, prostate, etc. However, in the past 10 years, researchers and oncologists have learned that cancer can also be classified by genetic changes. “This has enabled us to think about how we could target the cancer specifically,” explains Sameek Roychowdhury, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist and specialist in cancer genomics at Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James). “So not everyone with breast cancer has the same breast cancer; it could be one of 50 kinds of cancer, depending on its genetic alterations.” In the new home of the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, precision cancer medicine will enable researchers to study these genetic changes so they can help determine the best treatments for individual patients. “One of the things that we've always practiced has been called personalized cancer care,” Roychowdhury says, explaining that personalized cancer care at the OSUCCC – James involves a multidisciplinary approach to understanding a patient’s medical history, prior medical issues and how to treat his or her cancer. “Precision cancer medicine takes personalized cancer care to the next step, looking at molecular features or genetic changes that help us decide how to treat each patient’s cancer.” To learn more about the Precision Cancer Medicine Clinic in the new home of The James, watch this week’s segment of Toward a Cancer-Free World and subscribe to the OSUCCC – James blog for updates.