Pharmacogenomics in neuro-oncology

Introduction and development. Chemotherapy protocols for treatment of brain tumors use toxic molecules for killing cancer cells in a similar way that protocols for treating other cancers. Therefore, secondary effects and poor response are the major handicaps. Technological developments based on pharmacogenomics and pharmacoproteomics will predict response and toxicity giving rise to a personalized medicine. However there are only few studies that correlate chemotherapeutical molecules for brain tumor treatment and prediction of response and toxicity. Conclusions. The development of new technologies based on high-density microarrays allows the progressive identification of genes whose presence will predict the efficacy of therapeutic protocols. Once identified, specific equipments based on low-density arrays will detect exclusively in an easy and fast way the presence of genes in order to predict patient's response and avoid toxicity. Other more sophisticated techniques at present still at an experimental step based on proteomics as MALDI (Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization) and SELDI (Surface-Enhanced Laser Desorption Ionization) will allow the identification of proteins that could predict response and toxicity.