| dc.description.abstract | The CYP2D6 enzyme is very active in the metabolism of many therapeutic drugs currently on the market. A highly polymorphic enzyme with four phenotypic classes of metabolic speed, CYP2D6 is a gene that would be very beneficial if a treating physician knew the allele variant present in each patient. Having this information in treatment can improve therapeutic effects while preventing toxic levels of a drug from building up in a patient's blood because the dosage can be tailored to the individual patient's metabolic rate of the drug. Sanger Sequencing is currently the Gold Standard for being able to call genotypic variants of this highly polymorphic gene, however, time constraints associated with this method information prevent its therapeutic use. New Next Generation Sequencing technologies have greatly increased the speed of obtaining sequencing data and could be useful in moving to a more personalized medical treatment. If the Next Generation Sequencing technology is accurately able to call the genotype of the alleles present in each patient, this information could be used to alter dosages and plan treatment for patients around the world. From this study, it was determined that the Next Generation Sequencing technology was able to accurately call the correct phenotypic class for each of the 12 patients. With this information, we hope to be able to move to a personalized medicine to treat patients in a shorter period of time. | |
