Cancer Genetics Markers of Susceptibility (CGEMS) is a three-year initiative of the National Cancer Institute that conducts genome-wide association studies (GWAS) with follow-up replication studies to identify common, inherited gene variations that either increase or decrease the risk for cancer. The CGEMS project has genotyped nearly 550,000 common genetic variants, known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in cases and controls from well-designed epidemiological studies. The two cancers currently being studied by CGEMS are prostate cancer and breast cancer.

The project team has developed easy access to pre-computed results of the data including SNP frequencies and single SNP association analyses. The raw genotype data will be available to accredited investigators upon approval of a Data Access Request, which can be obtained by registering individually and providing institutional confirmation of research intent. Detailed step-by-step instructions are posted on this web site.

The CGEMS study will test markers identified as promising in the genome wide scan stage in follow-up epidemiologic studies, including case-control studies and studies that are members of the NCI Breast & Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium, a multi-center network of large prospective studies. Executive summaries of the results of the follow-up studies will be posted on this web site at a later date.