How Genome Sequencing Is Transforming Cancer Care

In this interview with Targeted Oncology, Joyce Ohm, PhD, chair of the Department of Cancer Genetics & Genomics and John & Santa Palisano Endowed Chair of Cancer Genetics at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, eflects on how far cancer genomics has come and why speed, more than anything else, has become the defining factor in modern precision oncology.

Dr Ohm explains that whole-genome sequencing has fundamentally changed the pace of cancer research and treatment. Where scientists once could only examine individual genes in isolation, the ability to analyze an entire genome at once has dramatically accelerated the discovery of new targeted therapies. This shift has made it possible to identify the specific gene mutations that drive both treatment response and resistance, as well as to uncover new vulnerabilities that can be exploited with targeted drugs.

She contextualizes this progress with a striking personal benchmark: when she began her career, the human genome had not yet been fully sequenced. Today, that same process can be completed in a matter of hours, a transformation she describes with genuine enthusiasm for how quick and accessible the technology has become.

Dr Ohm emphasizes that the entire framework of personalized medicine—matching patients to targeted therapies based on their unique cancer biology—depends entirely on the ability to detect cancer mutations quickly. It's not enough to simply identify these mutations; clinicians need that information fast enough to meaningfully adjust treatment strategies in real time. As she puts it, keeping pace with a patient's evolving cancer is fundamentally "a matter of speed."

This conversation offers valuable insight into how advances in sequencing technology are reshaping clinical decision-making and why faster genomic analysis translates directly into better, more adaptive cancer care for patients navigating treatment.

Read the full interview with Dr Ohm.