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Pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics: role of mutational analysis in anti-cancer targeted therapy

The Pharmacogenomics Journal volume 12, pages 277–286 (2012)Cite this article

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Abstract

The goal of cancer pharmacogenomics is to obtain benefit from personalized approaches of cancer treatment and prevention. Recent advances in genomic research have shed light on the crucial role of genetic variants, mainly involving genes encoding drug-metabolizing enzymes, drug transporters and targets, in driving different treatment responses among individuals, in terms of therapeutic efficacy and safety. Although a considerable amount of new targeted agents have been designed based on a finely understanding of molecular alterations in cancer, a wide gap between pharmacogenomic knowledge and clinical application still persists. This review focuses on the relevance of mutational analyses in predicting individual response to antitumor therapy, in order to improve the translational impact of genetic information on clinical practice.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Sabino Ciavarella for critically revising the manuscript, Dr Giorgia Ludovici for excellent technical assistance and A.R.B.O. Financial support for this work was provided by a research grant from the Italian Association of Cancer Research (AIRC IG11647) to F.S. and grant MERIT RBNE08NKH7 to F.G.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Oncology, University of Bari ‘Aldo Moro’—Piazza Giulio Cesare 11, Bari, Italy

    A Savonarola & F Silvestris

  2. Department of Laboratory Medicine and Advanced Biotechnologies, Laboratory of Molecular Diagnostics, Institute of Care and Scientific Research San Raffaele Pisana, Rome, Italy

    A Savonarola & R Palmirotta

  3. Department of Laboratory Medicine and Advanced Biotechnologies, Interinstitutional Multidisciplinary BioBank (BioBIM), Institute of Care and Scientific Research San Raffaele Pisana, Rome, Italy

    F Guadagni

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  1. A Savonarola
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Correspondence to A Savonarola.

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Savonarola, A., Palmirotta, R., Guadagni, F. et al. Pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics: role of mutational analysis in anti-cancer targeted therapy. Pharmacogenomics J 12, 277–286 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/tpj.2012.28

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/tpj.2012.28

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