World’s first personalized breast cancer treatment launched in UAE

According to WAM, the treatment was delivered under the supervision of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi to a patient in her forties diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. Genetic testing identified a mutation in the ESR1 gene, which is associated with resistance to conventional hormone therapies and plays a role in disease progression.

Medical specialists employed advanced circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) technology to monitor molecular changes through a blood sample. This approach enables the identification of treatment resistance at an early stage, before it becomes visible through imaging examinations or clinical symptoms, supporting more timely therapeutic intervention.

Commenting on the development, Noura Khamis Al Ghaithi, Undersecretary of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, said the future of healthcare is increasingly focused on prevention, early detection and proactive intervention. She noted that the introduction of a new targeted therapy reflects Abu Dhabi’s vision of building an advanced healthcare ecosystem that integrates innovative technologies and expands access to cutting-edge treatment options.

Professor Humaid Al Shamsi highlighted the importance of combining molecular diagnostics, artificial intelligence and advanced analytical tools within clinical practice. He noted that continuous molecular monitoring allows healthcare professionals to make more precise treatment decisions tailored to the biological characteristics of each patient.

The study found that the new therapeutic approach reduced the risk of disease progression by 56 per cent compared with continuing conventional hormone therapy.

Experts noted that the use of sequential ctDNA monitoring represents an important advancement in breast cancer care, enabling treatment decisions to be guided by molecular changes before conventional signs of disease progression emerge. The development is expected to contribute to the further advancement of personalised oncology and precision medicine.

Earlier, it was reported that a major international review led by researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney had concluded that nicotine-based e-cigarettes are likely to cause lung and oral cancers, challenging claims that vaping is a harmless alternative to smoking.