Health care sector has been benefiting tremendously from the advancement in technology which has helped increase the availability of a wide range of treatment options for several diseases which in turn improved the quality of life of many people suffering from life-threatening illnesses. The latest approach in disease treatment and prevention is precision medicine which takes into consideration the individual variability in genes, environment and lifestyle for each person, offering a person-centric treatment and prevention option.
This allows doctors and researchers to predict more accurately which treatment and prevention strategies for a particular disease will work in which group of people. The new approach is in contrast to a one-size-fits-all method, in which treatment and prevention strategies are developed for the average person.
Qatar has been making great strides in this new branch of science in the past few years. With the Qatar Genome Program (QGP), launched by Qatar Foundation (QF), the country has witnessed several research breakthroughs, offering insights into several health factors specific to the county and the region. QGP includes integration with Qatar Biobank, utilising local genomics and bioinformatics infrastructure, forging nationwide research partnership, building a national genome data network and integrating genomics into the health care.
Yesterday, a group of researchers at QF and Hamad Medical Corporation released a study highlighting some 60 diseases-causing genetic variants linked to cancer, heart diseases, high cholesterol level etc, with cancer-associated variants being the most frequent which is consistent with the high prevalence of cancer in the Qatari population. The study highlighted that 2.3 percent of the Qatari individuals with whole genome sequence data carried a pathogenic (disease causing) or likely pathogenic variant in one of the 59 genes identified as medically actionable. Many of such genes are related to inherited forms of cancer and heart conditions.
The study identified deleterious mutations (a genetic alteration that increases an individual’s susceptibility to a certain diseases or disorder) that would result in specific medical recommendations. When implemented, these recommendations can improve the participants’ and their relatives’ health conditions by avoiding or improving the outcomes of the associated diseases, said Dr Amal Elfatih, the lead author of the paper from QF.
The study will contribute in a great way as it will form a foundation for the implementation of precision medicine in Qatar and the region and it will make possible to predict the likely occurrence and offering early interventions suited to a particular person or the immediate family members.
According to the latest researches, chances of being affected by certain illnesses or disorders can even be predicted and avoided even before a child’s birth by tweaking some DNAs. The newest breakthrough is a proof that the investment made by Qatar in science and research is yielding high-value results.
