Genetic variability in drug-metabolizing enzymes and drug transporters is known to influence the pharmacokinetics of many drugs. Antimalarial drugs are a class of agents known to utilize metabolic and elimination pathways prone to genetic variation. This paper aims to review the genetic variants affecting antimalarial medications and discuss their clinical implications. Data were identified for the genes coding for the cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes: CYP2C8, CYP2C19, CYP2A6, CYP2D6, CYP2B6, and the P-glycoprotein drug transporter. Adverse effects of amodiaquine were more common in patients with decreased CYP2C8 metabolism. CYP2C19 variants influenced the metabolism of proguanil but no differences in efficacy outcomes were observed. Ultra-metabolizers of CYP2A6 showed increased incidence of adverse effects of artesunate (prodrug for active metabolite, dihydroartemisinin). In the presence of efavirenz, mutations in CYP2B6 influenced the number of patients achieving day-7 lumefantrine concentrations above accepted therapeutic cut-offs. Lumefantrine concentrations were also influenced by ABCB1 variants in the presence of nevirapine. The most critical pharmacogenetic consideration identified was the association of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency with development of hemolytic anemia and decreased hemoglobin levels in patients treated with primaquine or a combination of chlorproguanil-dapsone-artesunate. These findings demonstrate a need for close monitoring of patients originating from populations where genetic variation in metabolizing enzymes is prevalent, so as to ensure that optimal clinical outcomes are achieved. Future studies should determine which populations are at greatest risk of potential treatment failures and/or adverse effects, which drugs are most susceptible to genetic variation in metabolizing enzymes, and the impact of genetic influence on the efficacy and safety of first-line treatment regimens.
Keywords: Artemisinin; Chloroquine; Dapsone; Efavirenz; Malaria.