ADRB2 Arg16 and the Need for Collaboration in Childhood Asthma Pharmacogenomics

Abstract

With approximately 300 million patients worldwide, asthma is a major global health problem. The disease is the most common chronic disease among children [101]. Candidate gene approaches and, to a lesser extent, whole-genome association studies have identified several genetic loci that are associated with poor treatment response [1–3]. However, replication of studies in distinct (pediatric) study populations is uncommon and reported effect estimates are generally moderate to low, questioning the value of pharmacogenomics for clinical asthma practice. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving pharmacogenomics (as an intervention to guide treatment or ad hoc pharmacogenomics analysis), which are still the gold standard for evaluating the effectiveness of clinical interventions, are very rare in asthmatic children.