Pharmacogenomics: Recent Progress, Sex Gender Differences, Translation Into Clinical Practice, Application in Pediatrics and Future Perspectives

Pharmacogenomics is a promising field which increasingly influences medicine and biomedical research in many areas. Aim of this article is to provide a comprehensive review of recent progress in the understanding of the genetic polymorphisms and their influence on interindividual variability in drug response. Also, main variabilites in drug response according to sex gender differences will be discussed. Translation of pharmacogenomics into clinical practice and the challenges of reaching the goal of individualized medicine are also discussed. The role of pharmacogenetic tests in pediatrics has not been well defined yet, but it is clear that those tests could help in resolving some issues regarding administration of drugs to children. At the end, main ethical, social and regulatory issues regarding translation of pharmacogenomics into clinical practice and future perspectives in the field will be shown.