Precision Medicine

What is Precision Medicine?

Precision medicine emphasizes that “one size does not fit all.” Genetic variations, combined with lifestyle and environmental factors, shape an individual’s disease susceptibility and treatment response.

The Texas A&M Center for Genomics and Precision Medicine was established to advance personalized medicine, with the goal of positively impacting both individual patient care and public health.

Precision medicine aims to customize medical treatments to each patient’s unique needs, using insights from their genome environment, and lifestyle habits to guide treatment decisions with greater accuracy and effectiveness.

Why is it Crucial for Latinos to Increase Their Participation in Precision Medicine and Biobanks?

GENETIC REPRESENTATION: Latinos are a diverse population with unique genetic profiles. Without their participation, precision medicine cannot develop treatments tailored specifically for Latinos. Participating in biobanks helps improve treatments adapted to their needs.

IMPROVING TREATMENT EFFECTIVENESS: By including more Latinos in genetic studies, researchers can develop more precise and effective treatments for diseases that disproportionately affect this community, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and certain types of cancer.

REDUCING HEALTH DISPARITIES: Precision medicine offers the potential to lessen health disparities impacting Latinos, often due to limited access to personalized treatments. Participation in biobanks and precision studies provides crucial data to create targeted prevention and treatment strategies for the Latino community.

ACCESS TO NEW MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES: Those who participate in precision medicine research often gain access to cutting-edge medical technologies and new treatments that may not be available in conventional care. This could provide Latinos with early access to medical innovations.

About the Institute

Scientists at the Texas A&M Health Science Center’s Institute of Biosciences and Technology in Houston are dedicated to improving healthcare in areas such as cancer, heart disease, infections, and birth defects through innovative research, education, and service.

The institute is organized into centers specializing in cancer, genetics, disease prevention, and infections.

Founded in 1986 within the Texas Medical Center—the world’s largest medical complex—the institute supports research in medicine and engineering. In 1992, with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and philanthropists Albert and Margaret Alkek, its 11-story building, the Albert B. Alkek Institute of Biosciences and Technology, was inaugurated. In 1999, the institute became part of the Texas A&M Health Science Center.

Our mission is to conduct groundbreaking medical research and to share discoveries across classrooms, clinics, and the healthcare industry.

What is Pharmacogenomics?

One of the most practical applications of precision medicine is found in the field of pharmacogenomics, a combination of the words pharmacology and genomics.

This discipline aims to tailor drug treatments to each person’s unique genetic profile. Pharmacogenomics examines how an individual’s genes impact their response to medications, enabling the development of treatments that are more effective and precisely suited to each patient.

This approach helps ensure that patients receive the medications best suited to them, reducing the risk of adverse reactions.

Benefits of Pharmacogenomics

Genetic variations play a key role in determining how patients respond to medications.

Participating in a pharmacogenomics program offers several key benefits:

• It helps improve medication selection by tailoring treatments to your genetic makeup, which can reduce side effects and enhance treatment outcomes.
• By defining how your body responds to different medications, the program can also identify drugs that may be less effective or not the best option for you, allowing healthcare providers to avoid them in favor of more suitable alternatives.
• Additionally, your participation contributes to future research in personalized medicine, benefiting people with similar genetic backgrounds, such as your family and community, by helping to develop more effective treatments for them as well.

What are the Requirements?

The pharmacogenomics program requires genetic testing, where your DNA is analyzed to understand how your body processes different medications.

All genetic data collected through this program is kept private and securely protected.

The information obtained will help healthcare providers select medications that are likely to work best for you, reducing the chances of side effects.

How Can I Participate?

• First, patients will enroll during a clinic visit.
• During the visit, blood and cheek swab samples will be collected, and in some cases, urine samples will also be taken as needed.
• These samples will be used for genetic testing to identify variations in your DNA that may affect your response to medications.
• Based on the results, your healthcare provider can adjust medications to better suit your individual needs.
• Patients will receive the results of any clinical genetic tests that are relevant to their care.
• Every six months, patients will be contacted to participate in follow-up surveys about their health, which will help track the benefit to the participant and the long-term impact of the program.

Where Can I Get More Information About Pharmacogenomic Testing?

The Texas A&M Health Hub offers members of the Brazos Valley community a true medical home. The Hub provides comprehensive, personal care for the whole body and mind—for the whole family—all under one roof.

Our team of health care professionals works together to ensure seamless care coordination and promote the latest in clinical care. As the only facility of its kind in the Brazos Valley, the Health Hub houses a range of health care programs and services, including family care, psychiatry, heart health, tele-behavioral care, and pharmacy medication management.

Texas Regional Center of Excellence in Cancer (TREC) and Registry and Repository of Cancer Prevention

Are You Worried About Cancer?

The ways to prevent and treat this disease have changed in the last 15 years. The use of precision medicine allows us now to understand how your DNA, lifestyle, and environment interact to prevent and fight cancer in a unique and personalized way.

What is the Registry?

The Cancer Prevention Registry and Repository is a clinicogenomic database that focuses on studying how a person’s genes, the chemicals present in their blood, environmental factors in their workplace, the place where they live, and their access to healthcare influence cancer prevention or effective treatment before it becomes incurable.

Participating in the cancer prevention registry and repository is convenient for everyone.

Cancer Prevention Registry and Repository: The Path to Donation

By sharing your samples and health information, you help create a knowledge database that benefits you, your family members, communities, and future generations.

Benefits of Participating in the Registry

• By sharing your blood, cell, and/or urine samples along with your health information, you directly contribute to a knowledge database that facilitates medical advancements and the development of new treatments. In this way, you benefit yourself, family members, communities, and future generations.
• Early cancer detection offers significant benefits, especially when cancers are caught at an early stage, greatly increasing the likelihood of a cure.
• Blood, cells, and urine donated for research can contribute to the development of new products, diagnostic tests, or scientific discoveries.
• Participants help advance our understanding of how factors such as lifestyle, diet, physical activity, and occupation can influence disease risks based on genetics.
• The detection of certain chemicals in the blood can play a crucial role in preventing various diseases and facilitates the development of early treatments, making deaths less common and early cures more frequent.
• To achieve broader insurance coverage, detection methods need to be more reliable and standardized.

Who Can Participate?

Patients 18 years old or older, of any sex or gender identity, who meet the criteria for screening for colorectal, lung, breast/liver, biliary duct, and female reproductive organ cancers, as defined by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, and those with elevated cancer risk factors, such as tobacco use or alcohol consumption.

Requirements for Participation

• Participation includes providing blood, urine, and a cheek swab sample during an in-person visit with a member of the research team.
• Completing an online survey every 6 months and sending a blood sample obtained by finger prick using a prepaid envelope.
• By participating, you will grant access to your medical records for a period of up to 5 years, and your blood, cell, and urine samples will be stored for possible future analysis.
• Your identity will never be shared; your data will only be used anonymously unless you give your explicit permission otherwise.

About the Texas Regional Center of Excellence in Cancer

The Regional Center of Excellence in Cancer Research was created to bring together the outstanding cancer research taking place across Texas A&M University to create a powerful collaborative environment that fuels innovation and accelerates breakthroughs that make a difference in the lives of Texans, and beyond.