Association of CYP3A4 genotype with detection of Vgamma/Jbeta trans-rearrangements in the peripheral blood leukocytes of pediatric cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy for ALL.

Cancer patients receiving chemotherapy are exposed to high doses of cytotoxic and genotoxic drugs which, in some cases, can lead to treatment related leukemia. Since this only occurs in a minority of patients, however, it is possible some individuals are predisposed due to genetic polymorphisms in genes for enzymes that mediate drug metabolism. To address this possibility we measured the genotoxicity of chemotherapeutic agents in patients receiving treatment for ALL by the frequency of the Vgamma/Jbeta trans-rearrangement in their peripheral blood leukocytes and compared this with CYP3A4 genotype.