Pharmacoscopy is a new image-based, drug-response profiling technique that uses high-throughput, automated, confocal microscopy; immunofluorescence; and single-cell image analysis.
A commentary notes that most precision medicine initiatives have focused on genomics, but few have included functional assays. It adds that the idea of testing cellular drug resistance to assist clinical decision making is not new. Short-term assays to determine responses to conventional antileukaemic drugs almost three decades ago did not translate into clinical practice. It discusses why the revival of ex-vivo drug testing would make a difference today. It suggests that “testing a sufficient number of therapeutic agents across functional classes detects highly informative, but individually heterogeneous, drug-response patterns for each disease. Valuable information can be gained with respect to sensitivity to functional classes of agents and drug resistance, which underscores the underlying complexity and the need for more personalised approaches to treatment.” It concludes that phenotypic screening approaches could contribute important information to improve the selection of the right drug for the right patient at the right time in their treatment.