Next generation sequencing has allowed personalised medicine to become a viable option for the treatment of many conditions and diseases with genetic factors, as well as opening up the field of genomics to more scientists improving accessibility.
Personalised medicine involves using a patients genome to identify drugs that may have higher treatment rates, or reduced side effects. One case of this being used would be in late-stage breast cancers. By sequencing the genome of the cancer cells, it is possible to then identify anti-cancer (chemotherapy) drugs that may have a higher chance of success. This can also be used to identify individuals with mutations increasing their risk of developing breast cancer (or other conditions with strong genetic risk alleles), allowing clinicians to prescribe drugs or lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of development. Another case of genome sequencing being used in medicine includes cystic fibrosis. In the United Kingdom, patients with specific mutations are eligible for certain drugs. This allows reduction in excess spending by only prescribing certain drugs to individuals that will see an improved life from their use, improving efficiencies.
These cases of using DNA sequencing in healthcare are only possible due to the advances made by next generation sequencing, causing the cost of DNA sequencing to fall significantly over the past 20 years. As the cost of sequencing falls further, alongside improved understanding of the human genome, it is likely sequencing will play a more dominant role in clinical decisions, including diagnosis and treatment.