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Genetic testing for pharmacogenetics and its clinical application in drug therapy.

Hiratsuka M, Sasaki T, Mizugaki M

Department of Clinical Pharmaceutics, Tohoku Pharmaceutical University, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Japan.

There is wide individual variation in drug responses and adverse effects. As the main causes of the variation in drug responses, attention has focused on the genetic polymorphisms that encode metabolic enzymes regulating pharmacodynamics and receptors modulating the affinity with the responsive sites. Tailor-made drug therapy analyzes genetic polymorphisms involved in drug responses before drug administration and selects drugs and doses suitable for the individual genetic background. Establishment of tailor-made drug therapy is expected to contribute to medical economy by avoiding wasteful drug administration. To promote such medical practice, it is necessary to use simple genetic testing that is clinically convenient. Currently, genetic testing using real-time PCR has been frequently employed at laboratories with its clinical application anticipated. As to the many genes involved in drug responses, to date, the application of patient genetic information to tailor-made drug therapy has been achieved at the practical level. Information on pharmacogenetics will be a critical factor in medical practice in the near future.

Published 6 December 2005 in Clin Chim Acta, 363(1): 177-86.
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