Current applications of precision medicine: a bibliometric analysis

Abstract

A bibliometric analysis was conducted to describe trends in the publication of precision medicine literature over time. Searches identified 5552 articles with exponential growth from 2012 to 2018. Most were published in medical specialty journals, particularly oncology. Precision medicine definitions focused on tailored/individualized/personalized treatments and genetics/biology. Little attention was given to social and environmental determinants of health and health disparities. To fulfill the promise of precision medicine to positively impact broad populations, work is needed to develop the science of precision medicine for addressing health disparities and social and environmental determinants of health. While some precision medicine definitions include all factors that contribute to individual differences in health (e.g., genes, environments and lifestyles), future empirical work that includes and integrates all three areas is also required.