Chemotherapy is a common course of treatment for people diagnosed with cancer, and it is known to have intense side effects. Chemotoxicity occurs when DNA changes, or genetic factors react with the medications within treatment, and cause life threatening issues like gastrointestinal toxicity, and hand-foot syndrome. Roughly 3% of people who use fluorouracil in their treatments, experience chemotoxicity and 1,300 people annually have fatal reactions to it. So what can we do to prevent this?
Drug-Gene Testing is the answer. Multi-gene testing can analyze the reactions a person may have to chemotherapy based on their genetics. DPYD variants can be a lead cause to chemotoxicity, as it's enzyme, DPD is responsible for metabolizing chemotherapy medications. A deficiency in DPD can be fatal for patients, roughly 39-61% of people experiencing toxicity are deficient. 3-8% of the general population has a DPYD variant causing DPD deficiency. Drug-gene testing can detect these genetic variations and other medical interactions which can save the lives of people who are already fighting to survive. It is important to advocate for more of these tests to be done before treatment.
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