Speaker Abstract: S-13
Pharmacogenomics: The Present and Future
Luke Ratnasinghe, Ph.D., National Center for Toxicological Research/FDA
Cancer susceptibility in population studies has been focused on genetic polymorphisms as makers of risk. The next frontier in applied genomics research is pharmacogenomcs. This is the study of how an individual's genetic inheritance influences response to drugs. The promise of pharmacogenomics is that, in the near, future drugs may be tailor-made for an individual. For the patient with cancer, the initial step consists of the removal of some tissue for microscopic examination, a procedure unchanged since the 1800's. Once a diagnosis is established, the physician prescribes a series of tests to determine the extent or stage of the tumor. These two pieces of information along with patient age and weight form the basis for a therapeutic plan and for the prediction of prognosis. Physicians and their patients have long recognized the occurrence of seemingly good (low stage or early diagnosis) tumors that went on to cause an unexpected death, as well as bad (high stage or late diagnosis) tumors that did not cause the expected early death. By providing physicians with more detailed information about the influence of host genomic variation on drug response and adverse events, pharmacogenomics can significantly improve diagnostic accuracy and consequently therapeutic outcomes. Investigators have identified outcome differences associated with genomic variations in host response that have the potential to provide physicians and their patients an opportunity to redirect therapy in ways that may change the outcome for the better. While many applied genomics studies have focused on cancer susceptibility, future efforts will be expanded to include the identification of genomic variants that modify cancer treatment, toxicity and outcome.
2004 FDA Science Forum | FDA Chapter, Sigma Xi | CFSAN | FDA
Last updated on 2004-MAY-28 by frf