Martin Bradley discusses NHS England-recommended genomic testing for predisposition to greater fluoropyrimidine-associated toxicity
In November 2020, NHS England issued an urgent policy statement confirming the routine commissioning of pharmacogenomic testing prior to the initiation of fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy.1 This decision was made following a recent market authorisation change instigated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which recommended that phenotypic or genomic testing for dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) status should be performed prior to commencing fluoropyrimidine-containing treatments.2