GENETIC BIOMARKERS IN PRECISION DRUG THERAPY: EMERGING APPLICATIONS IN NURSING AND MODERN MEDICINE

Abstract

Genetic biomarkers are increasingly important in precision drug therapy because inherited variation can influence treatment efficacy, toxicity, metabolism, and dosage requirements. This study characterized clinically annotated pharmacogenomic evidence to identify major genetic biomarkers and drug associations relevant to individualized medication management and modern clinical practice. A retrospective secondary-data analysis was conducted using 5,171 unique clinical variant annotations after removal of 21 exact duplicates. Evidence levels, clinical consequence domains, leading genes, and frequently represented drugs or chemicals were summarized descriptively. Level 3 evidence predominated, accounting for 86.27% of annotations, whereas Levels 1A-2B collectively represented 7.76%. Efficacy and toxicity were the principal clinical consequence domains, comprising 38.91% and 36.22% of annotations, respectively. Frequently represented genes included ABCB1, OPRM1, CYP2D6, SLCO1B1, HLA-B, DPYD, CYP2C19, and CYP2C9. Among these, CFTR, DPYD, and CYP2D6 showed comparatively high proportions of Level 1/2 evidence. Fluorouracil, methotrexate, cyclophosphamide, cisplatin, and warfarin were among the most frequently represented therapeutic agents. Overall, the findings show that pharmacogenomic knowledge is broad but heterogeneous in clinical maturity. Precision therapy should therefore prioritize high-evidence gene-drug relationships to support safer prescribing, treatment optimization, adverse-event prevention, and nursing-led medication monitoring.