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0:00
Hello, I'm Sharon Marsh
from the University of Alberta
in Edmonton, Canada.
And this lecture
is on Pharmacogenomics
in Cancer Therapy.
0:09
First, we will go through some
background on pharmacogenomics.
Then we'll discuss the types
and sources
of genetic variation.
We will discuss the techniques
used to measure
genetic variation.
And then we will go through
examples of cancer
pharmacogenomics
and drug selection,
drug toxicity and drug outcomes.
And then we will
summarize the lecture.
We will now
discuss the background
to cancer pharmacogenomics.
0:33
As you can see from this slide,
adverse drug reactions
are a significant problem
to the healthcare system.
Adverse drug reactions are
a reaction
to the medication itself,
not the disease
that the medication
is trying to treat.
This can be particularly
problematic in cancer patients
where the therapeutic window
for treatment is very narrow.
Reduction in dosage
or reduction of medication
or removal of medication
can be detrimental
and potentially fatal
if this has to occur
due to an adverse reaction.
1:05
So what are the causes
of individual variability
in drug response?
They are many.
They range from the environment,
concurrent medications, stress,
smoking status, age,
diet and exercise,
metabolic issues
and, of course, genetics.
Although genetics
can play a major role
in drug disposition
and response,
it is by far
not the only explanation
for failure of a medication
or for an adverse drug reaction.
And it needs to be
taken into account
that genetics will never
be able to explain 100 percent
of all of the variability
in drug response.
