ABSTRACT
Modern medicine now has access to extensive genetic information about humans. The entire human genome was decoded in the international Human Genome Project and technical progress in the field of sequencing technologies enables inexpensive analyses of the complete genome of an individual. Clinical medicine is seeking to utilise these insights from molecular genetics research to treat patients more effectively. Knowledge about the individual genes of a patient in the field of medical diagnostics and treatment is being used to develop custom-tailored, individualised treatments (Chin et al., 2011; McDermott et al., 2011; Phimister et al., 2012; Sledge, 2012). Doctors can determine, for example, whether or not a cancer drug will be effective against a specific tumour by determining specific genetic biomarkers in a patient prior to starting treatment. Ineffective treatments can be excluded from the outset, and patients can, therefore, also be spared unnecessary adverse side effects. Furthermore, the pharmaceutical industry contends that considerable health-care costs can be saved by avoiding ineffective treatments ( Richter-Kuhlmann, 2012a ).
