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Arroyo Seguí et al. J Transl Genet Genom 2020;4:263-77 Journal of Translational
DOI: 10.20517/jtgg.2020.35 Genetics and Genomics

Review Open Access

A review of the pharmacogenomics of
buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use

disorder

Hemanuel Arroyo Seguí , Kyle Melin , Darlene Santiago Quiñones , Jorge Duconge 3
3
1
2
1 School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
2 Department of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, PR
00936, USA.
3 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan,
PR 00936, USA.

Correspondence to: Dr. Kyle Melin, Department of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy, University of Puerto Rico Medical
Sciences Campus, PO BOX 365067, San Juan, PR 00936, USA. E-mail: kyle.melin@upr.edu

How to cite this article: Seguí HA, Melin K, Quiñones DS, Duconge J. A review of the pharmacogenomics of buprenorphine
for the treatment of opioid use disorder. J Transl Genet Genom 2020;4:263-77.
http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/jtgg.2020.35

Received: 31 May 2020 First Decision: 29 Jun 2020 Revised: 1 Jul 2020 Accepted: 10 Jul 2020 Available online: 30 Jul 2020
Academic Editor: Ramón Cacabelos Copy Editor: Cai-Hong Wang Production Editor: Jing Yu

Abstract
As the opioid epidemic continues to grow across the United States, the number of patients requiring treatment for
opioid use disorder continues to climb. Although medication-assisted treatment presents a highly effective tool
that can help address this epidemic, its use has been limited. Nonetheless, with easier dosing protocols (compared
to the more complex dosing required of methadone due to its long and variable half-life) and fewer prescribing
limitations (may be prescribed outside the setting of federally approved clinics), the increase in buprenorphine
use in the United States has been dramatic in recent years. Despite buprenorphine’s demonstrated efficacy,
patient-specific factors can alter the response to the medications, which may lead to treatment failure in some
patients. Clinical characteristics (sex, concurrent medications, and mental health comorbidities) as well as social
determinants of health (housing status, involvement with the criminal justice system, and socioeconomic status)
may impact treatment outcomes. Furthermore, a growing body of data suggests that genetic variations can alter
pharmacological effects and influence therapeutic response. This review will cover the available pharmacogenomic
data for the use of buprenorphine in the management of opioid use disorders. Pharmacogenomic determinants
that affect opioid receptors, the dopaminergic system, metabolism of buprenorphine, and adverse events are
discussed. Although much of the existing data comes from observational studies, clinical research is ongoing.

© The Author(s) 2020. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,
sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as long
as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license,
and indicate if changes were made.

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