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Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is increasingly being used in clinical practice. As a result, various healthcare professionals now encounter ethical dilemmas that were formerly confined within the genetics clinic. In addition to autonomy and well-being of both patients and their family members, which need to be balanced carefully, a societal perspective is also vital to ensure the ethically sound introduction of whole genome sequencing into daily practice. Important choices to be made are: who is eligible for whole genome sequencing; how can informed consent be sensibly obtained, when dealing with such vast quantities of genomic information; which type of information should be offered to patients; should professionals actively search for pathogenic mutations. The rise of WGS has an impact on the moral responsibilities incumbent on healthcare professionals and necessitates a comprehensive societal debate on the advent of personalized medicine.

Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is increasingly being used in clinical practice. As a result, various healthcare professionals now encounter ethical dilemmas that were formerly confined within the genetics clinic. In addition to autonomy and well-being of both patients and their family members, which need to be balanced carefully, a societal perspective is also vital to ensure the ethically sound introduction of whole genome sequencing into daily practice. Important choices to be made are: who is eligible for whole genome sequencing; how can informed consent be sensibly obtained, when dealing with such vast quantities of genomic information; which type of information should be offered to patients; should professionals actively search for pathogenic mutations. The rise of WGS has an impact on the moral responsibilities incumbent on healthcare professionals and necessitates a comprehensive societal debate on the advent of personalized medicine.

New possibilities for genetic diagnostics are rapidly assuming a place in oncological clinical practice. Due to specific genetic aberrations, solid tumours characterised by their histological origin can now be further classified into subgroups. The further sub-classification of tumours has led to the development of therapies that target these genetic changes. Clinical research into these drugs in genetically characterised patient groups should be carried out more efficiently than is currently the case in oncological drug studies. In both primary tumours and metastases, the heterogeneity of the tumour genome and the changes within this make the identification of important genetic aberrations more difficult. In the Netherlands a network of hospitals and institutions is being set up - the Center for Personalized Cancer Treatment - to facilitate genome studies of tumours and clinical oncology studies and aimed at making the development of drugs more efficient.