The College of Pharmacy discussed the PhD dissertation entitled “Study of Association between ABCB-1 Gene Polymorphism and Response to Imatinib and Incidence of Adverse Events to Imatinib and Nilotinib in a Sample of Iraqi Patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia” by the student Ekhlas Khammas Hasan and the supervisor, Assistant Professor Dr. Ali Abdulhussain Qasim and Dr. Bassam Francis Matti at the Clinical Pharmacy Department.The study aimed to detect the prevalence of different genotypes and alleles in the promoter region of the ATP binding cassette family B (ABCB-1) gene at rs1128503, rs1045642, as well as rs2117068084 and rs28381896 in a sample of Iraqi CML patients and examining whether SNPs within the promoter region of ABCB-1 gene affect the response to treatment with imatinib. The study included 76 adult patients diagnosed with CML who did not respond to imatinib and were transferred to nilotinib treatment. The study concluded that there is no association between ABCB-1 gene polymorphism and response to imatinib, and that patients on nilotinib were associated with increment of human AOPP level (marker of oxidative stress). A positive association between ABCB-1 SNPs (rs1128503 and rs1045642) and occurrence of GIT disturbance and musculoskeletal pain in imatinib responder patients was found. Furthermore, there this a positive effect of ABCB-1 rs28381896 genotypes on the occurrence of blurred vision in imatinib responders.The study recommended a larger, multi-centered, longitudinal cohort study to examine their impact on the responsiveness to imatinib. Early detection of genetic polymorphism among those CML patients on TKIs treatment. Patient’s selection is preferred to be dependent genetic background.
