title: Pharmacogenetics: where are we with respect to personalized medicine?
abstract: The application of genetic testing to predict how well or how poorly an individual will respond to a therapeutic drug is beginning to make its way into the clinical laboratory. As this testing begins to unfold in the clinical setting, there is a necessary paradigm change that must occur for the laboratory and for the healthcare provider in order for this to be successful. New molecular-based technologies are commercially available to perform this testing on a routine basis and several established examples of pharmacogenetic tests are currently being performed. Several national organizations are now working on practice guidelines for the incorporation of this testing into a clinical setting. This manuscript provides an overview of where we are with respect to pharmacogenetic testing.
authors.affiliation: Dartmouth Medical School, Department of Pathology, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Norris Cotton Cancer Center, One Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA +1 603 650 5498 ; +1 603 650 4845 ; gregory.j.tsongalis@hitchcock.org.
authors.forename: Joel A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lefferts
authors.forename: Claudine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: L Bartels
authors.forename: Gregory J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Tsongalis