Pharmacokinetic Effect of MDR Gene Polymorphism rs2032582 on the Therapeutic Response in Iraqi Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia

BACKGROUND: The main problem in treatment of leukemia patients is the chemotherapy resistance which is a main concern in recent years. The cause of chemotherapy drug resistance is related to MDR gene which is located on chromosome 7 (7q21-31) and it is mainly connected with energy-dependent efflux (P-glycoprotein). This study was conducted to assess the correlation between MDR polymorphism and chemotherapy efficiency with Vincristine in a sample of Iraqi Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) patients. METHODS: The blood sample of 200 AML patients and 200 controls were collected and the frequency of rs2032582 was calculated through sequencing and then the role of different genetic patterns was evaluated on cancer cells by MTT assay. RESULTS: The results indicate that GG and TT genotypes (20 and 20.5% from total patients count) are more frequent in Iraqi AML patients than other genetic patterns in MDR gene and also the genotype TA is more sensitive to Vincristine chemotherapy than other genotypes. CONCLUSION: It seems that genetic pattern is the main factor in determination of chemotherapy of AML patients, and patients should not undergo chemotherapy with such drugs, especially Vincristine.