Novel methods for detecting epistasis in pharmacogenomics studies

The importance of gene-gene and gene-environment interactions in the underlying genetic architecture of common, complex phenotypes is gaining wide recognition in the field of pharmacogenomics. In epidemiological approaches to mapping genetic variants that predict drug response, it is important that researchers investigate potential epistatic interactions. In the current review, we discuss data-mining tools available in genetic epidemiology to detect such interactions and appropriate applications. We survey several classes of novel methods available and present an organized collection of successful applications in the literature. Finally, we provide guidance as to how to incorporate these novel methods into a genetic analysis. The overall goal of this paper is to aid researchers in developing an analysis plan that accounts for gene-gene and gene-environment in their own work.