Genetic polymorphism of CYP2A6 in the German population

Genetic polymorphism of drug metabolizing enzymes (DME) can lead to severe toxicity or therapeutic failure of pharmacotherapy. Additionally, genetical ly determined differences in the activity of the metabolic enzymes can incr ease an individual's susceptibility to certain types of chemically induced cancers and possibly other diseases. Cytochrome P450 is one of the most imp ortant metabolic systems of the organism involved in the oxidation of diffe rent xenobiotics. This contribution summarizes and updates the information concerning the genetic polymorphism of the CYP2A6 isoform of the cytochrome P450. A special emphasis is put upon the genotyping techniques of CYP2AG w ith a comparative analysis of their predictable sensitivity and specificity given on the example of the German population. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science I reland Ltd. All rights reserved.