Clinical Pharmacogenetics in Pediatric Patients

Abstract

Pediatric pharmacogenetic studies have the potential to improve the quality of medical care for children. The pediatric population presents a unique pharmacogenetic challenge as children have the additional complexity of ontological phenotypes that impact their drug response. Prescribing medications in children has historically been largely empirical, but utilization of pharmacogenetic information will allow pediatricians to gain key information regarding which patients are best suited for a particular therapeutic agent and which patients may be at risk for serious potentially life-threatening complications from standard treatment regimens. Although large, prospective, multisite investigators are still needed, we illustrate selective clinical examples of the pharmacogenetics for treatment of transplantation, asthma, leukemia and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in pediatric patients.

Keywords: :

• asthma
• attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
• childhood leukemia
• pediatrics
• pharmacogenetics
• pharmacogenomics
• transplantation

Financial & competing interests dislosure

Salary support for the authors derives from US Public Health Service grants CA034627, ES012557 and HD045934. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

alary support for the authors derives from US Public Health Service grants CA034627, ES012557 and HD045934. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.