[Pharmacogenetics and prediction of side effects of drugs]

Drug response is often variable from one individual to another, which sometimes makes them difficult to use when the therapeutic range is narrow. This interindividual variability in response can be explained in part by genetic factors affecting the metabolism, transport and the mechanism of action of drugs. Pharmacogenetics studies the genetic mechanisms involved in the response to drugs in order to optimize drug therapy, both in terms of efficacy and job security. This article summarizes the most known present clinical applications that illustrate the benefit of pharmacogenetic tests available to the clinician and are feasible for routine therapeutic management of patients (prediction of efficacy and toxicity of drugs), but also to demonstrate the benefit of pharmacogenetic tests in terms of health economics (reducing the incidence of hospitalizations for adverse drug events).