The New Genomics Era: Integration of genomics into mainstream oncology and implications for psycho-oncological care

Application and development trends of network toxicology in the safety assessment of traditional Chinese medicine

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Integrating network toxicology into traditional Chinese medicine toxicology boosts the efficiency and comprehensiveness of safety evaluations for these medicines.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This paper aims to deepen the comprehension of network toxicology and facilitate its application in the safety evaluation of traditional Chinese medicines.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Using "network pharmacology," "network toxicology," and "traditional Chinese medicine" as keywords, relevant literature was searched in databases such as Web of Science, PubMed, and CNKI. The cited literature spans from 1999 to 2024.

RESULTS

Network toxicology constructs a "toxicity-gene-target-drug" network model to characterize the toxicological features of the research subject. This paper reviews existing toxicity prediction tools and databases, explores methodologies for toxicity prediction, and comprehensively summarizes the applications of network toxicology in the prediction of harmful components, analysis of toxicity mechanisms, integration of interdisciplinary approaches, and combination with omics technologies. Additionally, it analyzes the current challenges and limitations of network toxicology.

CONCLUSIONS

Network toxicology has been extensively utilized in the safety research of traditional Chinese medicine, particularly in identifying toxic components and elucidating their mechanisms. However, there remains significant space for advancement. Future research could investigate integrating network toxicology with cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and multi-omics approaches, thereby offering robust theoretical foundations for developing a comprehensive traditional Chinese medicine safety evaluation system.

Understanding communication between patients and healthcare professionals regarding comprehensive biomarker testing in precision oncology: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Precision oncology, using comprehensive biomarker testing (cBT) to inform individual cancer diagnosis, prognosis and treatment, includes increasingly complex technology and clinical data sets. People impacted by cancer (patients and caregivers) and healthcare professionals (HCPs) face distinct challenges in navigating the cBT and personalized treatment landscape. This review summarizes evidence regarding cBT-related communication between people impacted by cancer and HCPs and identifies important avenues for future research in precision oncology.

METHODS

A scoping review was conducted using records published in PubMed during January 2017-August 2022, focusing on the breadth of topics on patient-HCP communication and knowledge resources used by HCPs as guidance in cBT-related communication. Data were extracted from records meeting inclusion criteria, and findings were summarized according to main topics.

RESULTS

The search identified 287 unique records and data were extracted from 42 records, including nine from expert input. Most records originated from the United States included patients with different types of cancer, and oncologists were the main HCPs. Patients' motivation for undergoing cBT and receiving results was generally high in different settings. However, patients' understanding of cBT-related concepts was limited, and their knowledge and information preferences changed based on cBT implications and significance to family members. HCPs were valued by patients as a trusted source of information. Limited evidence was available on HCPs' information-seeking behavior and factors influencing cBT-related knowledge and confidence, often self-reported as insufficient.

CONCLUSIONS

Patient education by knowledgeable and confident HCPs, information management and a caring patient-HCP relationship communicating continuity of care regardless of cBT results are crucial to empower patients and shared decision-making in precision oncology. More data on the process and structure of cBT-related communication, distinction between and characterization of different timepoints of patient-HCP interactions are needed.