Summary
This article concentrates on individual genetic differences responsible for variations
of action of clopidogrel, which have been found to be partially responsible for increased
cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease under dual antiplatelet
therapy. According to these results, genotyping for the relevant gene polymorphisms,
especially for the CYP2C19 loss-of-function alleles, has been discussed to be an effective
method of individualising and optimising clopidogrel treatment. However, due to the
facts that 1) there are no prospective studies demonstrating a clinical benefit of
personalising antiplatelet therapy based on genotyping; 2) CYP2C19 polymorphisms account
for only approximately 12% of variability in clopidogrel platelet response; 3) the
positive predictive value of CYP2C19 loss-of-function polymorphisms for cardiovascular
events in patients with acute coronary syndrome undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention
is only approximately 12% – 20%; 4) it is likely that other clinical factors and risk
constellations might be of greater clinical importance; and 5) it is unknown whether
a specific genetic polymorphism is capable of influencing outcome for the individual
patient; genetic profiling cannot be recommended for routine use at present but will
remain of considerable scientific interest.
Keywords
Antiplatelet agents - coronary syndrome - gene mutations - thrombosis