Precision Medicine in COPD
The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) document emphasizes the ABCD assessment tool since 2011, or the recently revised ABE assessment tool, which classifies using symptoms (or dyspnoea) on the horizontal axis and exacerbations on the vertical axis. Dyspnoea and exacerbations may be one of the treatable traits there, which also relates to the basis for determining which drug to administer. Additionally, COPD patients with a blood eosinophil count (BEC) of 300 cells/mm3 or higher are currently recommended to receive inhaled medications, including inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), because ICS are expected to reduce the frequency of acute exacerbations. In this case, BEC of 300 cells/mm3 or more is considered one of the treatable features and peripheral blood eosinophil count can be positioned as a biomarker. A definition of Precise Medicine in COPD does not yet exist. This attempt is rather a first step towards a definition. In this sense, we are trying to cover as broad an area of COPD as possible. We hope that different researchers from around the world will submit their ideas without preconceived notions. If you are involved in real clinical practice, the term Precision Medicine may be difficult to grasp as a familiar term because it is an esoteric term and is associated with advanced medicine related to gene therapy. We have no intention of playing with words. We hope to see the development of steady research that directly contributes to the treatment of individual COPD patients in a familiar patient care setting. A slight change in perspective should lead to new insights that are still being overlooked. We hope that everyone from young researchers to experienced clinicians will take a second look at this field of practice and contribute their findings. It is our great pleasure to invite you to submit articles on the topic of COPD. This article collection, entitled "Precision medicine in COPD", will cover all aspects of clinical investigations regarding COPD. I believe this is the best opportunity to publish your excellent work. Both original articles and reviews are welcome. In light of scientific originality this Article Collection is not currently accepting case reports, case series, meeting reports, photo essays, poster extracts, or study protocols. Topics include but are not limited to: Early COPD or late COPD Blood eosinophil count as biomarker Asthma and COPD overlap Frequent exacerbators Patient-reported outcomes Health status or health-related quality of life Dyspnoea measurement Definition of COPD exacerbation
Edited by
Dr. Koichi Nishimura(Visiting Researcher at National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, and Director of Clinic Nishimura, Japan)
Dr. Toru Oga(Kawasaki Medical School, Japan)
Dr. Susumu Sato(Kyoto University, Japan)