Precision medicine the theme at world's biggest cancer conference

New era of targeted treatment that will extend survival rates detailed at American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting

A new era of cancer treatment is beginning in which patients get drugs matched specifically to their tumour, according to scientists at the world's biggest cancer conference in Chicago.

Precision or personalised medicine, as it is called, "is about targeting treatment so that it's more powerful, while reducing the toxicity, so there are fewer side-effects", said Prof Roy Herbst, chief of medical oncology at Yale Cancer Center. "At the moment it's more like using a cannonball to kill an ant - and creating a whole lot of damage at the same time."