Pharmacogenomics and metastatic colorectal cancer: Current knowledge and perspectives

Leonor Benhaim, Melissa Janae Labonte, Heinz Josef Lenz

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The pharmacogenomics field is crucial for optimizing the selection of which chemotherapy regimen to use according to the patient's genomic profile. Indeed, the individual's inherited genome accounts for a large proportion of the variation in his or her response to chemotherapeutic agents both in terms of efficiency and toxicity. Patients with metastatic disease are more likely to receive different lines of chemotherapy with variable efficacy and experience some related complications. It is therefore critical to tailor the best therapeutic arsenal to improve the efficacy and avoid as much as possible related complications that are susceptible to interrupt the treatment. The pharmacogenomics approach investigates for each drug the implicated metabolic pathway and the potential personal variations in gene function. The aim of this review is to present a clear overview of the most accurate polymorphisms that have been identified as related to drug response in patients with mCRC.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)325-339
Number of pages15
JournalScandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology
Volume47
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2012
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • chemotherapy
  • colorectal cancer
  • metastatic
  • pharmacogenomics

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