Research Field Critical to Personalized Medicine Gets Major Boost

In his paper published online today in The Pharmacogenomics Journal, Deeken and colleagues report results of the new genotyping platform called DMET, or drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters, (Affymetrix, Inc., Santa Clara, Calif.). The DMET "casts a wider net," screening for 1256 genetic variations in 170 genes involved in drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion.

Deeken says one of the main obstacles facing pharmocogenetic researchers like himself is the lack of a proven and relatively quick technology for genotyping. "DMET appears to offer great promise in this field as a reliable test unveiling genetic variations that correlated with drug effectiveness and toxicity," says Deeken. "Still, DMET isn't yet ready for primetime in terms of having received FDA approval, but we're getting closer."

Deeken serves as a consultant to Sanofi-Aventis, the manufacturer of docetaxel, a drug involved in the current reported study. Three other authors are employees of Affymetrix, the manufacturer of the DMET platform. The study was done in part at the National Cancer Institute and supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health.

About Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer CenterThe Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Georgetown University Medical Center and Georgetown University Hospital, seeks to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer through innovative basic and clinical research, patient care, community education and outreach, and the training of cancer specialists of the future. Lombardi is one of only 41 comprehensive cancer centers in the nation, as designated by the National Cancer Institute, and the only one in the Washington, DC, area. For more information, go to http://www.lombardi.georgetown.edu.

About Georgetown University Medical CenterGeorgetown University Medical Center is an internationally recognized academic medical center with a three-part mission of research, teaching and patient care (through Georgetown's affiliation with MedStar Health). GUMC's mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis -- or "care of the whole person." The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing and Health Studies, both nationally ranked, the world-renowned Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization (BGRO), home to 60 percent of the university's sponsored research funding.



Source-Eurekalert
RAS