Page 33 - Read Online

Page 4 of 5 Padh. J Cancer Metastasis Treat 2018;4:52 I http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-4722.2018.51

task and perhaps awaits better technologies or illuminating algorithm to reveal such consortium of
variants responsible for the transformation of a cell to become cancerous; (3) the third limitation is for
us to realize that genotype is not everything. The manifestation of a genome continuously changes with
age, physiological and environmental conditions. Hence over emphasis on genotype and underplaying
phenotype may not help us understand cancer or lead us to its meaningful cure; and (4) since genotyping
results are likely to influence medical decisions, it is imperative that the technology of genotyping is
standardized and validated. This is of pivotal importance to eliminate lab to lab variation. Similarly
standardized format should be used in reporting results. These issues have been rightly pointed out by
[13]
Morvan et al. . These simple but critical technical improvements will help in making pharmacogenetics
an important tool in cancer management.

In conclusion, we have come a long way in our understanding of the role the genetic background of an
individual plays in the susceptibility to cancer, in the treatment outcome and prognosis. We have a long
way to go to utilize the new knowledge in the integration of our overall understanding of cancer biology
and the ways to conquer it. The hope President Bill Clinton expressed, may become reality one day!

DECLARATIONS
Authors’ contributions
The author contributed solely to the article.

Availability of data and materials
Not applicable.

Financial support and sponsorship
None.

Conflicts of interest
The author declared that there are no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.

Consent for publication
Not applicable.

Copyright
© The Author(s) 2018.

REFERENCES
1. Hall JM, Lee MK, Newman B, Morrow JE, Anderson LA, Huey B, King MC. Linkage of early-onset familial breast cancer to chromosome
17q21. Science 1990;250:1684-9.
2. Vogelstein B, Papadopoulos N, Velculescu VE, Zhou S, Diaz LA Jr, Kinzler KW. Cancer genome landscapes. Science 2013;339:1546-58.
3. Stratton MR, Campbell PJ, Futreal PA. The cancer genome. Nature 2009;458:719-24.
4. Gupta A, Padh, H. Variability of drug response: approach to minimize toxicity andmaximize efficacy. Indian Drugs 2016;53:5-10.
5. Dhawan D, Padh H. Pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine for cancer. In: Barh D, Dhawan D, Ganguly NK, editors. Omics for
Personalized Medicine. New Delhi: Springer; 2013. p. 215-35.
6. Almal S, Jeon S, Agarwal M, Patel S, Patel S, Bhak Y, Jun J, Bhak J, Padh H. Sequencing and analysis of the whole genome of Indian
Gujarati male. Genomics 2018; doi: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2018.02.003.
7. Ciccolini J, Serdjebi1 C, Peters GJ,Giovannetti E. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacogenetics of gemcitabineas a mainstay in adult and
pediatric oncology: an EORTC-PAMMperspective. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 2016;78:1-12.