Discovery of a genetic variation that may boost the risk of peripheral neuropathy for some cancer patients on vincristine therapy could lead to better treatment regimens for those patients.
Investigators uncovered the genetic variation in a study that analyzed DNA samples from 321 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who received standard vincristine therapy while participating in two prospective clinical trials (JAMA 2015 Feb. 24 [doi:10.1001/jama.2015.0894]).
William E. Evans, Pharm.D., and Kristine R. Crews, Pharm.D., both of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tenn., discussed what spurred the search for genetic risk factors and what’s next for researchers looking to cut the chance of side effects associated with vincristine treatment in a video interview.