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Review

Nature Reviews Cancer 1, 99–108 (1 November 2001) | doi:10.1038/35101056

Pharmacogenetics and cancer therapy

Mary V. Relling & Thierry Dervieux

Pharmacogenetics is the study of how genetic variations affect drug response. These variations can affect a patient's response to cancer drugs, for which there is usually a fine line between a dosage that has a therapeutic effect and one that produces toxicity. Gaining better insight into the genetic elements of both the patient and the tumour that affect drug efficacy will eventually allow for individualized dosage determination and fewer adverse effects.