NEW ORLEANS (Reuters Health) - The results of a new study provide preliminary evidence of a “potentially strong and specific” relationship between the genetic makeup of cancer patients and their quality of life (QOL) during cancer treatment.
Dr. Jeff A. Sloan from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota presented the findings this week during the 40th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
“If individual patients with a genetic predisposition for deficits in quality of life can be identified, interventions can be applied to improve the quality of life of these patients,” Dr. Sloan said. “These could include interventions to prevent the onset of a deficit or to adopt a watchful waiting approach.”
Genetic variants have been associated with toxicity and clinical outcome of cancer therapy, but few studies have explored the relationship between genetic variants and patient QOL.
Dr. Sloan and a multicenter team evaluated QOL according to genetic makeup in 494 patients undergoing treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer with 5-fluorouracil, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin. They were particularly interested in three folate genes involved in cellular health -- DPYD, MTHFR, and TYMS.
“These genes are fairly fundamental genes in terms of their role in biology that apparently may have a role in homeostasis of patients,” co-presenter Dr. Howard McLeod of Washington University in St. Louis told Reuters Health.
According to the results, patients with the A/A allele of DPYD*5 were significantly less likely to report fatigue than patients with wild-type DPYD (p = 0.008).
In addition, patients with the TSER marker near the TYMS gene were more likely to report distress and fatigue, yet have a positive outlook than were those without this marker. MTHFR gene variants did not correlate with QOL.
“The ultimate goal is to use information about a cancer patient’s individual genetic makeup to tailor individualized treatments to improve quality of life in the same way that has been envisioned for treating the tumor itself,” Dr. Sloan said.
MeSH Headings:Behavioral Sciences: Behavioral Disciplines and Activities: Humanities: Philosophy: Quality of Life: Social Sciences: Anthropology, Education, Sociology and Social Phenomena: Humanities: Psychiatry and PsychologyCopyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.