Genetics, Immunology & Precision Medicine

Pharmacogenomics is an emerging field of genetic testing that identifies individuals who metabolize commonly used drugs—including many cancer therapies—either too rapidly (resulting in reduced efficacy) or too slowly (leading to drug toxicity). Adverse drug reactions are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, with oncology drugs being a major driver of drug-related toxicity. A Chinese National Genomics Pilot Study involving over 6,000 cancer patients demonstrated that dose adjustments based on individual patient genomes significantly reduced drug toxicity-related hospitalizations and decreased overall hospital costs.