Personalized cancer therapy considering cytochrome P450 variability

The individual variability of pharmacokinetics is underestimated and few systematic studies exist in this field. In most cases, this leads to unwanted side effects or toxicity. In polychemotherapy, prodrugs (like ifosfamide), which have to be activated by cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs), play an important role. If patients are poor metabolizers for these drugs, the therapy will be ineffective. Furthermore, CYPs and transporters can be (over)expressed in target tissues, which is also not examined and considered in clinical routine. Here, we present a body map showing relevant enzymes in some organs and tissues. Finally, a typical case of a Caucasian chemotherapy patient with breast cancer is presented and discussed regarding a personalized cancer therapy considering the single nucleotide polymorphisms found via genotyping.