Distribution of uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase 1A polymorphisms and their role in irinotecan-induced toxicity in patients with cancer

Uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase 1A (UGT1A1), which affects irinotecan metabolism, has been associated with severe adverse reactions in patients with cancer treated with irinotecan. However, neither large-scale analysis of the distribution of UGT1A1 polymorphisms, nor standardized assessment of how UGT1A1 polymorphisms affect irinotecan treatment has been performed in China. The aim of the present study was to investigate the distribution of UGT1A1 polymorphisms (*28 and *6) in 2,093 Chinese patients with cancer who were treated with irinotecan from more than 15 hospitals in Shandong, to examine how the coexistence of UGT1A1*6 and UGT1A1*28 alleles may be able to predict toxicities induced by irinotecan in 105 of the patients, and to search for other relevant risk factors. The distribution of the genotypes was as follows: TA(6)/TA(6) (1,601, 76.5%), TA(6)/TA(7) (463, 22.1%) and TA(7)/TA(7) (29, 1.4%) for UGT1A1*28 (n=2,093); and G/G (286, 66.4%), G/A (124, 28.8%) and A/A (21, 4.9%) for UGT1A1*6 (n=431). The most frequent severe hematological toxicity was neutropenia, and the predominant non-hematological toxicities were diarrhea and cholinergic syndrome. In toxicity comparisons, grade 3–4 leukopenia and neutropenia were significantly higher in TA(6)/TA(7) compared with TA(6)/TA(6) (P<0.05). The UGT1A1*6 polymorphism was associated with a higher risk of severe diarrhea and total adverse drug reactions (P<0.05). Logistic regression showed that the UGT1A1*6 genotype was an independent predictor of severe diarrhea. These findings suggested that the UGT1A1*28 and UGT1A1*6 genotypes may be associated with irinotecan-induced severe toxicity, and clarified the clinical importance of UGT1A1 polymorphisms, particularly UGT1A1*6, regarding irinotecan therapy in Chinese patients.