Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:1.5.7.1 (methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase)
 2,116 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Dose adjustment of drug administration for each patient has been performed based on counts of some factors such as body surface area, age of the patient, performance status, renal and/or liver function. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analyses have been investigated by measuring the plasma concentration of a drug and observing the drug effects. However, prior to drug administration it is difficult to predict unexpected, severe drug toxicity, which depends on the individual differences among patients. Recent progress in human genome analysis has been providing tools for new approaches to disease treatment based on individual differences using genetic information. This review focuses on the drug metabolizing enzyme and its genetic polymorphisms in cancer chemotherapy. We describe the recent findings on pharmacogenomics between toxicity and the genetic polymorphisms of the thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) gene, dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPYD) gene, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene, and uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase (UGT1A1 and UGT1A7) gene. We need to accumulate clinical data based on the variation of genetic profiling as well as pharmacogenetic information. Such data will help tailor cancer chemotherapy to an individual's predisposition in the near future.
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PMID:[Pharmacogenomic approaches for prevention of drug toxicity in cancer chemotherapy]. 1266 88

Conventionally adjustments of the dose of chemotherapeutic treatment could be uneffective in preventing toxicity and response variability. New strategies for individualization of treatment in cancer patients are becoming an emerging issue in the clinical practice. Pharmacogenetics is undoubtedly an important source of information in this respect deepening the complex correlation existing between individual genetic profile and the response to therapy in terms of toxicity and activity. Several polymorphisms, i.e. genetic mutations with a frequency > 1% in a given population, have been described for genes encoding proteins involved in the metabolism of the drugs employed in the treatment of gastric cancer. TS (thymidilate synthase) and DPD (dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase) polymorphisms are implicated in the development of toxicity and in the efficacy of 5-fluorouracil (5FU). XRCC1 (X-ray cross-complementing group 1), ERCC1 (excision cross-complementing gene) and GSTP1 (glutathione S-transferase) have a role in the development of pharmacoresistance to platinum derivatives. MTHFR (5, 10 methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase) C677T polymorphism is important in methotrexate (MTX) metabolism. UGT1A1 (uridine diphoshate-glucuronosyltransferase 1A1) is involved on irinotecan metabolism. MRP2 (multi-drug resistance associated protein) and MDR1 (multi-drug resistance gene) are involved in irinotecan as well as anthracyclines transport. In conclusion, the clinical applications of pharmacogenetics could represent a new insight to accurately determine the proper drug and dose to be used in each individual patient.
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PMID:Pharmacogenetics of stomach cancer. 1291 84

The goal of chemotherapy is the elimination of tumor cells from the host. This is achieved by the use of therapeutic agents that are often more harmful to normal tissues than to the targeted tumor. Many chemotherapeutic agents are designed to damage cell replication machinery either directly at the level of DNA or indirectly, by inhibiting enzymes involved with DNA repair and synthesis. Novel therapeutic agents that exert their effects at signal transduction pathways have advanced chemotherapy; however, a role for the classic chemotherapeutic agents remains. These classic agents are associated with tumor cell resistance, toxicity, and occasionally secondary neoplasia. Current practices for the dosing of therapeutic agents rely on height and body surface measurements or drug monitoring and Bayesian adaptive control. Pharmacogenetics is emerging as an alternate approach to managing chemotherapy that may prevent undertreatment while avoiding overtreatment and associated toxicities. By determining the polymorphic genetic makeup of the host and, in some instances, the altered genetic expression of the tumor, chemotherapy can be tailored for interindividual response and toxicity avoidance. Chemotherapy is particularly applicable to the pharmacogenetic approach to tailored therapy for a number of reasons. The margin of safety is low with chemotherapeutic agents. Some drugs require biotransformation for activation. Drug activation correlates with toxicity. The pathways of drug clearance or inactivation exhibit polymorphic differences. Interindividual, race-specific, and age-related responses to chemotherapeutic agents are common. Last, drug resistance can be inherent to the tumor as a result of the suppression of apoptosis. Variations in response and toxicity to a specific drug can be caused by alterations in drug-metabolizing enzymes or receptor expression. These effects can be classed as pharmacokinetic and pharmacogenetic differences. Some of the genes known to display polymorphic differences include FLT3 receptor tyrosine kinase, FCG3RA IgG FC receptor, thymidylate synthase, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, thiopurine S-methyltransferase, dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase, aldehyde dehydrogenase, glutathione S-transferase, uridine diphosphate glyuronosyl transferases, N-acetyl transferases, cytochrome P450, and the DNA repair enzymes XPD and XRCC1. To be successful a pharmacogenetic approach to individualized chemotherapy must selectively take advantage of a determination of direct enzyme activity, gene expression, and genotype.
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PMID:Pharmacogenetics in cancer chemotherapy: balancing toxicity and response. 1522 71

The primary end point of the study was the analysis of associations between polymorphisms with putative influence on 5-fluorouracil/irinotecan activity and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with advanced colorectal cancer treated with first-line FOLFIRI chemotherapy. Peripheral blood samples from 146 prospectively enrolled patients were used for genotyping polymorphisms in thymidylate synthase (TS), methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), excision repair cross-complementation group-1 (ERCC 1) xeroderma pigmentosum group-D (XPD), X-ray cross-complementing-1 (XRCC 1), X-ray cross-complementing-3 (XRCC 3) and uridine diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferases-A1 (UGT1 A1). TS 3'-UTR 6+/6+ and XRCC3-241 C/C genotypes were associated with adverse PFS. Hazard ratio for PFS achieved 2.89 (95% confidence interval=1.56-5.80; P=0.002) in 30 patients (20%) with both risk genotypes. Risk for Grade III-IV neutropenia was significantly associated with UGT1A1*28 7/7 genotype. These promising findings deserve further investigations and their validation in independent prospective studies.
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PMID:Pharmacogenetic profiling in patients with advanced colorectal cancer treated with first-line FOLFIRI chemotherapy. 1754 67