title: Pharmacogenetics: practices and opportunities for study design and data analysis.
abstract: Pharmacogenetics (PGx) is increasingly used as a way to target treatment to patients who are most likely to benefit. To date, PGx has shown clinical significance across a few applications but widespread use has been limited by the need for further technical, methodological and practical advances and for educating clinical researchers on the value of PGx. Here, I describe the current scope of PGx research, including recent contributions to prospective study design. A case study is included to demonstrate the limitations of current practice and to describe some practical steps for improving the chances of identifying genetic effects. Additionally, I describe some opportunities for the integration and application of disparate data sources in exploratory PGx research.
authors.affiliation: Exploristics Limited, Cromac Square, Belfast BT28LA, United Kingdom. aiden.flynn@exploristics.com
authors.forename: Aiden A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Flynn
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D010597:Pharmacogenetics / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012107:Research Design / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013223:Statistics as Topic