Breast Cancer Pharmacogenetics: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Breast cancer was declared the most prevalent type of cancer in 2020. Among other factors, treatment response can be affected by genetic polymorphisms – which is the focus of pharmacogenetics – and ethnicity is also a contributing factor in this context. Relevant genes in disease treatment pathways were selected to evaluate treatment response from the pharmacogenetic perspective; polymorphism frequencies and ethnic and continental representation across the available literature were also assessed through a systematic review. The identified associations and gaps have been described in this study with the purpose that, in the future, treatments can be personalized and thus be more effective, safer, and accessible to all.

Keywords::

• breast cancer
• CYP19A1
• ERCC1
• ethnicity
• letrozole
• pharmacogenetics

Supplementary data

To view the supplementary data that accompany this paper please visit the journal website at: www.futuremedicine.com/doi/suppl/10.2217/pgs-2022-0144

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the Population Genetics and Pharmacogenetics Research group for the valuable discussions about this study. In particular, we acknowledge J Zanon Murarolli for his contributions to this paper.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no 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. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

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