OBJECTIVES: To review the role of inter-individual differences in responses to pain and
analgesics and to describe how these differences impact the effectiveness of therapies for
patients who have cancer pain. DATA SOURCES: Published research articles and clinical
experience. CONCLUSION: Individuals' genetic predisposition can affect their therapeutic
response to analgesics. With the rapidly advancing field of pharmacogenetics, soon our
therapeutic strategies will be targeted based on patients' genetics. IMPLICATIONS FOR …