Pharmacogenomics in patient care
Pharmacogenomics is the study of how your genes affect your body's response to medicines. Your body has thousands of genes that you inherited from your parents. Genes determine which traits you have, such as eye color and blood type. Some genes are responsible for how your body processes and responds to medications. Pharmacogenomic tests look for changes in these genes that may help your healthcare team understand the chances that a medication might not work as well for you or the chances that you could have side effects to a specific medication.
What You Need to Know About Pharmacogenomic Testing: The Right Drug at the Right Dose Based on Your Genes (PDF)
Pharmacogenomic testing is one tool that may help your healthcare team pick a medication for you. Your team also considers other factors such as your age, lifestyle, other medications you are taking and your overall health when choosing the right treatment for you.
Your healthcare team may review and recommend pharmacogenomic testing to address a specific health concern.
Genomic Sequencing Animation
As shown in this video, genomic sequencing, which also is called sorting, is one of the ways for testing a sample of DNA taken from your blood or saliva. In the lab, technicians collect DNA and prepare it for sequencing.
Current limitations of pharmacogenomic tests
There are some things pharmacogenomic testing cannot do. For example, a single pharmacogenomic gene test cannot be used to determine how you will respond to all medications. Your healthcare team may order a pharmacogenomics panel that tests multiple genes to assess how your body breaks down certain medications.
Pharmacogenomic tests are not available for all medications. Because pharmacogenomic tests are available only for certain medications, your healthcare team typically figures out if you need to have a pharmacogenomic test before beginning a specific treatment.
Pharmacogenomics animation
Pharmacogenomics help healthcare teams know how changes in genes affect how people respond to medications. Scientists can use a patient's pharmacogenomic test results to understand the risk of a drug not working, pick a dose and improve safety.
Pharmacogenomic testing may help healthcare professionals understand which medications may most likely produce desired responses in different patients.