Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Pharmacogenetics: a New Perspective for Anti-Angiogenic Therapy

Abstract

The pharmacogenetic approach to anti-angiogenic therapy should be considered a possible strategy for many pathological conditions with high incidence in Western countries, including solid tumors, age-related macular degeneration or endometriosis. While pharmacogenetic studies are building stronger foundations for the systematic investigations of phenotype–genotype relationships in many research and clinical fields of medicine, pharmacogenetic data regarding anti-angiogenic drugs are still lacking. Here we review preclinical and clinical genetic studies on angiogenic determinants such as vascular endothelial growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2. We suggest that pharmacogenetic profiling of patients who are candidates for the currently available anti-angiogenic agents targeting vascular endothelial growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 may aid the selection of patients on the basis of their likelihood of responding to the drugs or suffering from toxicity.

Keywords: :

• bevacizumab
• pharmacogenetics
• single nucleotide polymorphism
• tyrosine kinase inhibitors
• vascular endothelial growth factor
• vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2

Acknowledgements

The present work was supported in part by a research grant from the Ministry of Education, University and Research and in part by AIRC (Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Milan, Italy).

Additional information

Funding

The present work was supported in part by a research grant from the Ministry of Education, University and Research and in part by AIRC (Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Milan, Italy).