# Actionable genomic biomarkers

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/cancer-drivers-vs-actionable/  
OnCo record `cancer-drivers-vs-actionable` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

An actionable alteration is a change in a tumour's DNA that maps directly to an approved or investigational drug, so finding it changes what the patient is offered.

## Summary

Precision or personalised medicine tailors decisions to the patient's predicted response based on molecular features (Wikipedia). In oncology a genomic alteration is called actionable when an approved drug, a guideline recommendation or an open trial is tied to it; OncoKB and CIViC grade the evidence in tiers. Actionability is narrower than being a driver: many drivers have no drug, and some drug targets (HER2 amplification) are actionable regardless of driver status.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-09-24
- Also known as: actionable genomic biomarkers; actionable alteration; actionable alterations; actionable mutation; actionable mutations; actionable biomarker; clinically actionable
- Tags: cansim-terms

## Notes

- Listed in the CanSim terms map 1.0.0 (docs/onco/terms.json, generated 2026-09-24), CC BY 4.0, attribution: CanSim project, an open, public-data-first cancer foundation-model programme; CanSim page path /terms/actionable-genomic-biomarkers.

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personalized_medicine
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personalized_medicine

## Connected records

- collections: [CIViC](https://onco.cc/collections/civic/), [OncoKB](https://onco.cc/collections/oncokb/)
- terms: [Biomarker](https://onco.cc/terms/biomarker/), [Cancer AI vocabulary (CanSim terms map)](https://onco.cc/terms/cancer-ai-vocabulary/), [Driver mutation](https://onco.cc/terms/driver-mutation/), [Pharmacogenomics](https://onco.cc/terms/pharmacogenomics-term/), [Targeted panel sequencing](https://onco.cc/terms/targeted-panel-sequencing/)
- technologies: [Comprehensive genomic profiling](https://onco.cc/technologies/cgp/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/cancer-drivers-vs-actionable.json