Characterization of Reference Materials for DPYD: A GeT-RM Collaborative Project

The DPYD gene encodes dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) which is involved in the catalysis of uracil and thymine as well as 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), which is used to treat solid tumors. Patients with decreased DPD activity are at risk of serious, sometimes fatal, adverse drug reactions to this important cancer drug. Pharmacogenetic testing for DPYD is increasingly provided by clinical and research laboratories; however, only a limited number of quality control and reference materials are currently available for clinical DPYD testing. To address this need, the Division of Laboratory Systems, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) based Genetic Testing Reference Materials Coordination Program (GeT-RM), in collaboration with members of the pharmacogenetic testing and research communities and the Coriell Institute for Medical Research, has characterized 33 DNA samples derived from Coriell cell lines for DPYD. Samples were distributed to four volunteer laboratories for genetic testing using a variety of commercially available and laboratory-developed tests. Sanger sequencing was utilized by one laboratory and publicly available whole genome sequence (WGS) data from the 1000 Genomes Project was utilized by another to inform genotype. Thirty-three distinct DPYD variants were identified among the 33 samples characterized. These publicly available and well-characterized materials can be used to support the quality assurance and quality control programs of clinical laboratories performing clinical pharmacogenetic testing.