July 7, 2010 - A recently published study in the July-August issue of Molecular Medicine, “Personalized Smoking Cessation: Interactions between Nicotine Dose, Dependence and Quit-Success Genotype Score,” highlights new research which could be used to tailor smoking cessation strategies based on personal levels of nicotine dependence, genotype scores, and CO monitoring.

After using patterns of genetic markers identified in a previous study, Rose et al. developed different genotype scores, known as “quit success scores.”  These scores were used along with an individual’s nicotine dependence to predict a smoker’s likelihood of a successful quit attempt as well as a proper dosage of the nicotine replacement therapy.  This study randomly assigned two different dosages (high dose and standard dose) of a nicotine patch to 479 cigarette smokers and assessed each smoker’s nicotine dependence using a questionnaire.  Quit success scores were then determined using the smoker’s DNA and were used to determine which smokers/genotypes had more successful quit rates with the different dosages.  Results found that smokers with both a high nicotine dependence and a low quit success score highly benefited from the high-dose nicotine patch while others had more successful quit attempts using the standard nicotine patch.  These results have showed that genotypes may be used to determine a proper smoking cessation treatment for patients.

In the long run, it is hoped that this research can be used to select proper smoking-cessation treatments and dosages, hopefully increasing the number of successful quit attempts as a result since currently less than 5% of smokers who try to quit on their own are successful and long-term quit rates for those who have used pharmacological therapies are only around 25%.  However, more research is needed before effective treatment algorithms can be developed.

For more information please visit: http://www.molmed.org/content/2010/7_8_10.htm#rose