Genetics of a cancer drug

Cancer can affect any one. Even kids. One drug given to kids and adults with cancer can be toxic. It is a powerful drug. And we sometimes give it in high doses. It is good at killing cancer cells. But it can have side effects. These include throwing up, or an upset stomach. You might get sores in your mouth. A few people get harmful side effects, too. Like damage to the liver or kidneys. It can also lower the number of blood cells. Some side effects are part of how the drug works. But some are due to gene changes. We are all born with gene changes. Most of them do not cause problems. But some affect the way we process certain drugs. Most genes make proteins. Sometimes, gene changes affect the proteins they make. The protein may not work well. Or it may not work at all. When we take a drug, it works for a while. But then proteins in our liver process the drug. Each drug has a different group of proteins that process it. If a gene change affects one of these proteins, it may slow down how we process the drug. This means the drug stays in our body longer. Over time, if we keep taking the drug, it can build up in our body. This build up can cause harm. It can even be life-threatening. Scientists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center want to know more about a drug given for cancer. They will use BioVU to look for people who got the drug. They will look for gene changes that affect the proteins that process that drug. Then they will check if any of them had harmful side effects. They want to see if there is a link between the gene changes and harmful side effects. Their results will tell us who is at risk for these side effects. If we know you are at risk, we can lower the dose. Or we may give you a different drug. The goal is to give the right drug in the right amount to those who need it.