Pharmacogenomics in latin american populations

Latin America extends through the Southern region of North America (Mexico), Central America, and South America. It comprises a huge and diverse area and its population is similarly diverse. There is a high and variable degree of admixture between Africans, Europeans, and Native Americans, but the percentage of contribution of each ancestry is very different across the Latin American continents. Many countries in Latin America have a high Native American contribution (e.g., Mexico and Peru), whereas others present a higher contribution of African ancestry (e.g., Brazil). Due to this fact, Latin Americans cannot be considered a single monolithic population, and data from other populations are not accurate for being implemented in Latin American individuals. This variation is of great importance to pharmacogenomics studies and implementation, because is well known that ethnicity plays a key role in drug response. This chapter reviews pharmacogenomic variation in Latin America, with an emphasis on Brazil and Puerto Rico as educational examples that highlight the importance of genetic ancestry and admixture, including a current landscape of clinical implementation of pharmacogenomics in these diverse populations. The knowledge of the unique genetic characteristics of Latin Americans could ultimately help establish public health policies and develop specific guidelines for this highly admixed population.