Karen Merritt

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT KAREN MERRITT

My journey into patient advocacy began after the heartbreaking loss of my mother—not to colorectal cancer, but to toxicity/overdose of 5FU chemotherapy caused by an untested for DPYD gene variation. The DPYD gene is responsible for producing the DPD enzyme, which is essential for breaking down and eliminating fluoropyrimidine chemotherapies like 5FU and capecitabine (Xeloda) from the body. Individuals with certain DPYD gene variations have reduced DPD enzyme activity, putting them at risk of being overdosed during treatment with these drugs.In most of Europe, testing for DPYD gene variations before administering 5FU or capecitabine is standard practice. Unfortunately, this is not yet the case in the United States. In 2022, I co-founded the nonprofit organization Advocates for Universal DPD/DPYD Testing to push for change. Our mission is to improve patient safety by making pretreatment DPYD testing a standard of care in the U.S.While organizations like the FDA, NCCN, and ASCO have yet to mandate this testing, several leading U.S. cancer centers—such as Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Levine Cancer Institute, and Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center—are already implementing DPYD testing for better patient safety and outcomes. My goal is to see this become the norm across the country, ensuring that no more lives are lost due to preventable drug-gene interactions.