Commentary: Should Pharmacogenomic Evidence Be Considered in Clinical Decision Making? Focus on Select Cardiovascular Drugs

Abstract

Despite advances in technology and guidelines from the Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) that focus on how to use pharmacogene test results, hurdles remain that have delayed the widespread application of pharmacogenomics in clinical practice. These hurdles include a lack of prospective randomized controlled trials to address the utility of pharmacogenomics on clinical outcomes, what the clinical algorithm for pharmacogenomics should be, and whether pharmacogenomics is cost-effective. However, the implementation of clinical practice guidelines, such as those from professional organizations, is commonplace and often termed the application of evidence-based medicine. Here, we draw an analogy between the evidence supporting many commonly cited clinical practice guidelines and U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved labeling recommendations and the evidence supporting recommendations from CPIC. Although many clinical practice guideline recommendations are supported by the results of randomized controlled clinical trials, we cite examples of common clinical practices that are supported by levels and types of evidence similar to the evidence supporting many of the CPIC recommendations. Specifically, we discuss clinical recommendations for guidance related to drug-drug interactions, drug-gene interactions, therapeutic range selection, and dosage adjustments based on patient-specific factors within the context of a select set of cardiovascular therapeutic topics.

Keywords: cardiology; evidence-based medicine; pharmacogenomics.