Enriching medication review with a pharmacogenetic profile – a case of tamoxifen adverse drug reactions

Abstract

Pharmacogenotyping is applied to determine the hereditable component of a patient's susceptibility to experience therapy failure and/or adverse drug reactions (ADRs). We present the case of a female patient diagnosed with breast cancer and treated with tamoxifen as recurrence therapy who experienced various ADRs. Pharmacogenotyping revealed variants in the cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes CYP2D6, CYP2C9, and CYP2C19. The observed genotype was associated with a risk for lower tamoxifen efficacy. Aside from the tamoxifen therapy, the comedication was reviewed for the influence of the patient’s pharmacogenetic profile. As a result of this pharmacist-led medication review with pharmacogenetic analyses, concrete genotype-driven recommendations for the treating gynecologist were compiled. This case revealed the added value of a large pharmacogenetic panel and the complexity of integrating a pharmacogenetic profile into a recommendation.