Beyond the name of the cancer
Two people can receive the same diagnosis and yet have tumours that behave differently. Precision Oncology is the practice of considering the biological characteristics of an individual tumour — its pathology, its molecular features, its behaviour on imaging — when treatment options are being discussed.
It is not a separate kind of medicine. It is careful oncology, informed by additional layers of information where those layers are likely to be useful.
What it can and cannot offer
Molecular evaluation sometimes identifies findings that are relevant to treatment selection or to clinical trial eligibility. In other cases it does not, and standard evidence-based treatment remains the appropriate path.
Testing does not guarantee that an actionable alteration will be found, nor that a particular treatment will work. Its value lies in reducing uncertainty where it can be reduced.