Anticancer Drugs Pharmacogenomics in African Populations: A Scoping Review of Clinico-Molecular Data and Involvement in Personalized Medicine

In recent decades, Africa has experienced an increase in cancer mortality rates. This challenge conducted to wide use of anticancer drugs but their efficacy and toxicity may vary depending on patient’s genetic characteristics. In this context, pharmacogenomics may play a crucial role in optimizing and personalizing these treatments in African populations, which have been very little studied so far in this field. The main objective of this scoping review is to identify clinical and molecular data concerning the influence of genetic variants on the efficacy and the toxicity of anticancer drugs in African populations. The scientific databases PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar were used to search for articles published between January 2010 and December 2025. This review was conducted according to the Arksey and O’Malley framework in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR method (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews). Data on genes, variants, cancer type, drug, country, year of study publication, and clinical effects on patients were extracted. This information was used to highlight the effect of pharmacogenes on the response of anticancer drugs and their implication for personalized medicine. A total of 2397 articles were identified in the three databases. After eliminating duplicates and off-topic articles, 59 articles were selected. Among them, 30 were examined in full text, of which two were excluded due to the unavailability of the full text. Finally, 28 articles were selected for the qualitative analysis of this review. From these 28 articles, 58 variants spread over 41 genes were identified. The results revealed a geographical disparity in importance of the included research, with a strong one coming from North and Southern Africa. The ABCB1, CYP3A5, CYP2D6, SLC28A3, CYP2C9, CYP2B6, TPMT and MTHFR genes have been the most studied. They were significantly associated with the efficacy and toxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs in most studies. The most frequently analyzed anticancer drugs for their drug-gene associations include imatinib, tamoxifen and doxorubicin. Breast cancer, chronic myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia have been the most studied types of cancer. The available pharmacogenomic data for cancer drugs remain insufficient to allow a real application of personalized medicine in the treatment of cancer on the continent. This study provides an overview of the current state and gaps in pharmacogenomic research of anticancer drugs in Africa. It is particularly intended for pharmacologic clinicians, oncologists and health decision-makers involved in cancer management on the African continent.