Integrative medicine provides the best medical care when it’s customized for each person’s unique needs. One of the guiding principles of this approach is patient-driven care. With the advancement of genetic analysis over the past decade, patients and healthcare practitioners can now determine those needs according to the individual’s personal genetic expression. Genetic testing is becoming an essential clinical tool, refining protocol strategies in the treatment of various health conditions.
How Genetic Tests Are Transforming Cancer Treatment
Genetic testing is leading the way in advancements in cancer care. As this area of research continues to expand, genetic tests are becoming more available and affordable. Cancer is notoriously difficult to defeat, but additional information to understand the disease can provide an advantage in treatment and prevention. Different genetic tests offer insights to guide our choices.
Some gene-expression tests can identify the cause of cancer. For example, a tumor may be in breast tissue, but the cancer could have started in the ovaries. Determining the cancer’s origin is essential for treatment and can highlight which therapies may work best. Other genetic tests can help find out how well a patient will respond to specific cancer treatments. These gene tests can identify the genetic expression of cancer and shed light on its influence on specific metabolic pathways, another important tool that can provide guidance for targeted treatment.
Genetic tests can also pinpoint inherited gene mutations, signaling an increased risk of cancer development and intensity. If genetic cancer risk is high, these tests could highlight the need for early intervention and prevention efforts.
Understanding Detoxification and Health
We are regularly exposed to thousands of toxins and pollutants in our modern world. Many people seem to be immune to their effects. But others are hypersensitive, developing severe symptoms and long-lasting illnesses. Toxic body burden has been connected to many severe, life-threatening diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
Until recently, the reason why some people were more sensitive to toxins and heavy metals than others was unclear. However, research over the past decade has found specific gene expression profiles in different people. This evidence shows some people have certain gene mutations, preventing their bodies from detoxifying pollutants from the environment actively. Instead, these toxins get stored in their bodies instead of efficiently excreted.
Now, we can test genetic profiles like MTHFR and CYP1A1 to determine whether a patient is generating particular enzymes necessary to remove toxins from the body. Up to 50% of the US population has some degree of genetic mutation that hinders detoxification. If you have gene mutations that impair detox pathways, you can take special forms of specific nutrients, such as methylated folic acid, B12, and others, to correct these defects and support more considerable detoxification capacity. This class of genetic tests can predict your adverse drug reactions when revealing the inability of specific liver enzymes to metabolize certain drugs.
Removing Neurotoxins with Genetic Testing
Other genetic tests, like HLA DR tests, can identify whether a person can remove toxins such as heavy metals, molds, and byproducts of pathogens like B. Burgdorferi Lyme bacteria and Candida albicans. For those with gene-based sensitivities to these neurotoxins and cannot remove them, increased doses of specific therapies such as Modified Citrus Pectin and Alginates may be used. Gentle natural therapies can help bind these neurotoxins, safely eliminating them via the urinary and digestive systems.
The Advancement of Integrative Medicine
Thanks to genetic testing, integrative physicians and their patients can design precise protocols for the prevention and treatment of numerous degenerative diseases. Diagnostic and treatment methods have never been more strategic. However, we’re still in the early stages of this field, and new discoveries will continue to revolutionize the way we practice.
One thing is certain: as we learn more about unique individual biochemistry and genetic expression, the “one size fits all” method no longer offers a viable therapeutic approach. For more health and wellness information, visit websites like Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, or MedlinePlus.
