Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) show large variability in disease course, and also treatment response. The variability in treatment response has led to many initiatives in search of genetic markers to optimize treatment and avoid severe side effects. This has been very successful for thiopurines, one of the drugs used to induce and maintain remission in IBD. However, for the newer treatment options for IBD, like biologicals, the search for genetic predictors has not yielded any candidate biomarkers with clinical utility. In this review, a summary of recent advances in pharmacogenetics focusing on thiopurines and anti-TNF agents is given.
Keywords: HLA; TPMT gene; adverse drug reactions; antitumor necrosis factor treatment; genome-wide association study; inflammatory bowel disease; pharmacogenetics; thiopurines.