Once testing is completed, the result with clinical interpretation report which is prepared by a team comprising physicians, pharmacists and molecular geneticists will be provided. Interpretation is based on the primary pharmacogenomic literature with reference to the published clinical recommendations of Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) and Dutch Pharmacogenetics Working Group (DPWG).
Post-counselling service by expert pharmacogeneticians is provided.
Test Limitaion:
The myDNA medication test detects common variants in 9 genes (6 genes encoding CYP450 drug metabolising enzymes, VKORC1, encoding a protein that partially determines sensitivity to warfarin, OPRM1 encoding the mu receptor which has been associated with opioid sensitivity, and SLCO1B1, encoding a drug transporter important for statins). The genes tested in the myDNA medication test have clinically significant associations which have been documented in the peer-reviewed literature and, for some have associated published clinical practice guidelines.
There are important myDNA test limitations to consider:
- The test only provides information about medications for which one or more of the nine genes are known to influence medication concentration or response. Therefore, the test cannot determine how individuals respond to all medications in clinical use.
- Response to medications is complex and often incompletely understood. The myDNA medication test only looks at one aspect which may affect medication response (i.e. changes in drug concentration due to genetic variation) and this should be considered when interpreting the test. Of note, a “normal” result does not predict that the patient will always respond to a medication and not experience any side effects, and allergic reactions cannot be detected by this genetic test.
- The test does not detect all known variants in the genes tested. Only common variants are tested that are present in Caucasian, African and Asian backgrounds. If an individual carries a rare variant or a variant mostly found in other ethnicities, then this variant will not be detected, the allele will be classified as the default or wild type (e.g. *1) and the phenotype may be inaccurate. Only testing the common variants is the practice of most screening molecular genetic testing laboratories around the world.
1. Caudle KE, Dunnenberger HM, Freimuth RR, Peterson JF, Burlison JD, Whirl-Carrillo M, et al. Standardizing terms for clinical pharmacogenetic test results: consensus terms from the Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC). Genet Med. 2017;19(2):215-23.