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Sociologies of precision medicine

In: Handbook on the Sociology of Health and Medicine

Author

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  • Barbara Prainsack

Abstract

Very broadly, Precision Medicine refers to the tailoring of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment to individual (e.g. molecular, clinical, behavioural) characteristics of patients. It can be seen as the latest iteration of a quest for greater personalisation in medicine, which has taken different forms throughout history and in different places. At present, Precision Medicine is most developed in oncology, where it is used to give patients whose cancer is driven by specific genetic and other molecular variants treatments that target these disease-causing factors. Most visions of Precision Medicine go much wider in that they aim to comprise all fields of medical practice and integrate ever wider types of information about patients. Precision Medicine also signifies a commitment to specific rationales, including efficiency and standardisation. This chapter discusses critical issues examined by social science scholarship on Precision Medicine, and it highlights several aspects that arguably deserve more attention.

Suggested Citation

  • Barbara Prainsack, 2023. "Sociologies of precision medicine," Chapters, in: Alan Petersen (ed.), Handbook on the Sociology of Health and Medicine, chapter 28, pages 439-454, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    • Handle: RePEc:elg:eechap:19641_28
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    File URL: https://www.elgaronline.com/doi/10.4337/9781839104756.00038
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