Health

FDA OKs blood test that could be a step closer to personalized medicine

NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Sept. 12, 2005

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The Food and Drug Administration approved a new blood test Aug. 22 that will join several others intended to help physicians make personalized drug treatment decisions for patients.

The Invader assay detects variations in the UGT1A1 gene that produces an enzyme active in the metabolism of drugs such as irinotecan, used in colorectal cancer treatment.

The assay will help determine whether a drug dose suitable for one patient may be too high for another.

There is a growing list of such genetic tests on the market. One test individualizes doses of antidepressants, antipsychotics and some chemotherapy drugs, and another detects variations in the genome of HIV that makes the virus resistant to some anti-retroviral drugs.

Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/09/12/hlbf0912.htm.

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