Towards precision prevention: Technologies for identifying healthy individuals with high risk of disease

Zachary D Nagel; Bevin P Engelward; David J Brenner; Thomas J Begley; Robert W Sobol; Jason H Bielas; Peter J Stambrook; Qingyi Wei; Jennifer J Hu; Mary Beth Terry; Caroline Dilworth; Kimberly A McAllister; Les Reinlib; Leroy Worth; Daniel T Shaughnessy

doi:10.1016/j.mrfmmm.2017.03.007

Towards precision prevention: Technologies for identifying healthy individuals with high risk of disease

Mutat Res. 2017 Aug:800-802:14-28. doi: 10.1016/j.mrfmmm.2017.03.007. Epub 2017 Apr 6.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
² Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
³ Center for Radiological Research, Department of Radiation Oncology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
⁴ Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Albany, NY, 12203, USA.
⁵ Department of Oncologic Sciences, Mitchell Cancer Institute, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, 36604, USA.
⁶ Translational Research Program, Public Health Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA.
⁷ Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, OH, 45267, Cincinnati, USA.
⁸ Department of Medicine, Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, 27710, USA.
⁹ Department of Public Health Sciences and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
¹¹ Division of Extramural Research and Training, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Research Triangle Park, NC, 27713, USA.
¹² Division of Extramural Research and Training, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Research Triangle Park, NC, 27713, USA. Electronic address: shaughn1@niehs.nih.gov.

Abstract

The rise of advanced technologies for characterizing human populations at the molecular level, from sequence to function, is shifting disease prevention paradigms toward personalized strategies. Because minimization of adverse outcomes is a key driver for treatment decisions for diseased populations, developing personalized therapy strategies represent an important dimension of both precision medicine and personalized prevention. In this commentary, we highlight recently developed enabling technologies in the field of DNA damage, DNA repair, and mutagenesis. We propose that omics approaches and functional assays can be integrated into population studies that fuse basic, translational and clinical research with commercial expertise in order to accelerate personalized prevention and treatment of cancer and other diseases linked to aberrant responses to DNA damage. This collaborative approach is generally applicable to efforts to develop data-driven, individualized prevention and treatment strategies for other diseases. We also recommend strategies for maximizing the use of biological samples for epidemiological studies, and for applying emerging technologies to clinical applications.

Keywords: Comet; DNA damage; DNA damage response; DNA repair; H2AX; Host cell reactivation; Precision medicine.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

DNA Damage
DNA Repair
Humans
Mutagenesis
Neoplasms / diagnosis*
Neoplasms / prevention & control*
Precision Medicine*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding