Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Sep 7;60(3):2102146.
doi: 10.1183/13993003.02146-2021. Print 2022 Sep.

The role of precision medicine in interstitial lung disease

Toby M Maher  1   2 , Anoop M Nambiar  3 , Athol U Wells  4
Affiliations

The role of precision medicine in interstitial lung disease

Toby M Maher et al. Eur Respir J. .

Abstract

The management of interstitial lung disease (ILD) may benefit from a conceptual shift. Increased understanding of this complex and heterogeneous group of disorders over the past 20 years has highlighted the need for individualised treatment strategies that encompass diagnostic classification and disease behaviour. Biomarker-based approaches to precision medicine hold the greatest promise. Robust, large-scale biomarker-based technologies supporting ILD diagnosis have been developed, and future applications relating to staging, prognosis and assessment of treatment response are emerging. Artificial intelligence may redefine our ability to base prognostic evaluation on both diagnosis and underlying disease processes, sharpening individualised treatment algorithms to a level not previously achieved. Compared with therapeutic areas such as oncology, precision medicine in ILD is still in its infancy. However, the heterogeneous nature of ILD suggests that many relevant molecular, environmental and behavioural targets may serve as useful biomarkers if we are willing to invest in their identification and validation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: T.M. Maher has, via his institution, received industry-academic funding from AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline R&D and has received consultancy or speaker fees from AstraZeneca, Bayer, Blade Therapeutics, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Galapagos, Galecto, GlaxoSmithKline R&D, IQVIA, Pliant, Respivant, Roche, Theravance and Veracyte. A.M. Nambiar has received institutional research grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Fibrogen, Galapagos, Nitto Denko and Roche-Genentech, and has received consultancy or speaker fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, Roche-Genentech and Veracyte. A.U. Wells reports consultancy and/or speaker fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, Roche and Veracyte.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Three requirements for accurate and effective precision medicine in interstitial lung disease. IPF: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Three-tiered approach to the advancement of precision medicine in interstitial lung disease.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Cottin V, Hirani NA, Hotchkin DL, et al. . Presentation, diagnosis and clinical course of the spectrum of progressive-fibrosing interstitial lung diseases. Eur Respir Rev 2018; 27: 180076. doi:10.1183/16000617.0076-2018 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Newton CA, Herzog EL. Molecular markers and the promise of precision medicine for interstitial lung disease. Clin Chest Med 2021; 42: 357–364. doi:10.1016/j.ccm.2021.03.011 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. American Thoracic Society, European Respiratory Society . American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society International Multidisciplinary Consensus Classification of the Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonias. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2002; 165: 277–304. doi:10.1164/ajrccm.165.2.ats01 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Raghu G, Collard HR, Egan JJ, et al. . An official ATS/ERS/JRS/ALAT statement: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: evidence-based guidelines for diagnosis and management. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2011; 183: 788–824. doi:10.1164/rccm.2009-040GL - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Travis WD, Costabel U, Hansell DM, et al. . An official American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society statement: update of the international multidisciplinary classification of the idiopathic interstitial pneumonias. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2013; 188: 733–748. doi:10.1164/rccm.201308-1483ST - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources