The effect of CYP2C19 gene polymorphism on clinical outcomes of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) treated with clopidogrel remains controversial. Ethnicity has been proposed to influence clopidogrel response following stent implantation in CAD patients with different CYP2C19 genotypes. Furthermore, Asian populations are reported to have a relatively greater prevalence of CYP2C19 loss-of-function (LOF) alleles. We aimed to evaluate the impact of CYP2C19 gene polymorphism on clinical outcomes in Asian populations who underwent percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and received clopidogrel therapy. We conducted a comprehensive search in PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library from their inceptions to January 20, 2017. Studies that reported clopidogrel therapy information, clinically relevant outcomes (adverse cardiovascular events, stent thrombosis and bleeding), and CYP2C19 genotypes among Asian populations were included. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), defined as a composite of cardiovascular death and myocardial infarction. The safety endpoint was any kind of bleeding. We retrieved 20 studies of 15056 patients reporting 1301 cardiovascular events. The primary analysis showed at least one CYP2C19 LOF allele (*2 and/or *3) carriers were at an increased risk of MACE compared with non-carriers (10.58% vs. 6.07%, OR: 1.99, 95% CI: 1.64 to 2.42, p < .001). Stent thrombosis (ST) was also more frequent in LOF allele carriers (2.22% vs. 0.44%, OR: 4.77, 95% CI: 2.84 to 8.01, p < .001). Inversely, the risk of bleeding was lower in LOF allele carriers (OR: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.46 to 0.96, p < .001). Subgroup analysis was performed to assess differences by high (600 mg) or routine (300 mg) loading dose of clopidogrel and by different nationalities. The risk of MACE in LOF allele carriers remained significantly higher even in high loading dose group (high loading dose: OR 1.72, 95% CI: 1.37 to 2.16, and routine loading dose: OR 2.22, 95% CI: 1.68 to 2.94, p for subgroup heterogeneity = 0.16). Subgroup analysis between three nationalities of China, Korea, and Japan demonstrated that the risk of MACE among Chinese LOF allele carriers was the greatest (OR: 2.28; 95% CI:1.91 to 2.73). In conclusion, among Asian populations with CAD undergoing stent implantation, CYP2C19 LOF allele carriers are at greater risk of adverse cardiovascular events and lower risk of bleeding compared with non-carriers. Genetic testing may be helpful for clinicians to personalize antiplatelet therapy especially in Asian population.
Keywords: Asian; CYP2C19; clopidogrel; coronary artery disease; genetic.