Abstract

Individuals respond differently to drugs and sometimes the effects are unpredictable. Differences in DNA that alter the expression or function of proteins that are targeted by drugs can contribute significantly to variation in the responses of individuals. Many of the genes examined in early studies were linked to highly penetrant, single-gene traits, but future advances hinge on the more difficult challenge of elucidating multi-gene determinants of drug response. This intersection of genomics and medicine has the potential to yield a new set of molecular diagnostic tools that can be used to individualize and optimize drug therapy.

1. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee 38105, USA
   Email: william.evans@stjude.org
   Email: mary.relling@stjude.org
2. University of Tennessee Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine, and the Pharmacogenetics of Anticancer Agents Research Group, Chicago, Illinois and Memphis, Tennessee, USA

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