Handbook of Personalized Medicine: Advances in Nanotechnology, Drug Delivery and Therapy

David Fishwick, Handbook of Personalized Medicine: Advances in Nanotechnology, Drug Delivery and Therapy, Occupational Medicine, Volume 65, Issue 3, April 2015, Page 263, https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqu199

The development of the Handbook of Personalized Medicine is timely. Medicine and health have evidently moved on and continue to progress and develop at a pace. Gone are the days, perhaps, when medical treatments for patients were developed and designed as a ‘one size fits all’ solution. Much more is now understood about individual differences in the way in which diseases develop and specifically also about individual differences in response to treatments. This book represents an exceedingly comprehensive and detailed account of these developments, with the aim of integrating certain of these approaches into every day clinical practice.

The creation of this book has been no small achievement. At over 1400 pages, excluding a very comprehensive reference list, it is at first perhaps a little daunting to pick up and read. However, its structure is clearly laid out, contributing authors clearly stated and the periodic use of comprehensive tables, graphs and colour figures undoubtedly improve its understanding.

The large number of chapters deal with a diverse range of associated concepts, ranging from more basic considerations including nanotechnologies per se, nanomedicines, medical imaging techniques, boron neutron capture therapies in cancer work, bioinformatics, systems biology, genetically determined drug responses, through to molecular biomarkers for personalized medicine, pharmacogenomics, pharmacotyping in drug prescriptions and finally information-based medicine systems and electronic support for prescribing.

Each chapter, authored by a subject expert, contributes both individually and to the bigger story painted by this book. In other words, the interested reader can read chapters in isolation. Various chapters also offer differing perspectives on a given subject area, and certain chapters offer multiple perspectives.

An example of the latter is seen in the chapter that deals with nanotechnology applied to personalized medicine. Following a fascinating technical section reviewing the use of nanotechnologies in medicine, various views on the way forward are offered. First, a physician offers the overall view that personalized medicine offers ‘tremendous potential to deliver timely, appropriate prevention and care’ while detailing various scientific, information and training requirements that will need to be addressed. A regulator then offers a complimentary view; that regulation should be at the level of the product and its effects judged in trials, not at the technology level. A patient offers a final personal view; as a treated survivor of cancer, they are upbeat about the new possibilities for patient care afforded by personalizing therapeutic approaches.

Perhaps more relevant to the occupational health professional is the exploration of future ways in which medicine will be practised. While it is conceded that medicine has changed dramatically over the last few decades, further radical change is inevitable with the introduction of more efficient and effective treatments. The end chapters deal with such visions; how information-based medicine will improve patient care and, for example, how electronic support systems may help the physicians of tomorrow. Guidance is also given relating to developing personalized health care delivery today, using information already available to us all.

This book has been a massive undertaking to produce and portrays a journey from the most basic considerations through to the medical practice of the future.