Genetic profiling may be effective in improving response to various smoking-cessation interventions, Time reported June 2.

Researchers from Duke University and the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that they could predict improved outcomes for nicotine-replacement therapy or the smoking-cessation drug Zyban (bupropion) by screening patients for their genetic makeup and then using a set of about 100 genes to match smokers with one therapy or the other.

Led by Jed Rose of the Duke University Center for Nicotine and Smoking Cessation Research, the scientists found that individuals whose genetic makeup led to more efficient breakdown of bupropion did better on Zyban, while those whose genetic background lent itself to better cellular communication had an easier time quitting overall.

Researchers may eventually be able to "score" patients based on their genetic profile and match them to the most appropriate therapy.

The study appears in the June 2008 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.