CGEMS Data

Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility (CGEMS) is a three-year initiative of the National Cancer Institute that will conduct scans of the entire human genome (genotyping) to identify common, inherited gene mutations that increase the risks for breast and prostate cancer. To access data from this initiative, visit the CGEMS data access portal.

The CGEMS study uses cases and controls from well-designed epidemiological studies to generate genotypes on over 500,000 genetic variants. As such, CGEMS is a Genome-wide Association Study, or GWAS. The two cancers being studied by CGEMS are prostate cancer and breast cancer.

For the prostate cancer study, the GWAS has been conducted in a large, national study in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovary study (PLCO). The analysis includes 1,177 individuals who developed prostate cancer during the observational period and 1,105 individuals who did not develop prostate cancer during the same time period. The prostate scan has been conducted in two parts, Phase 1A and Phase 1B.

The data generated by this CGEMS study can be accessed through this portal. The first posting includes Phase 1A of the prostate cancer scan and includes over 300,000 SNPs. The results of Phase 1B will be available in 2007. The project team has developed analytical tools that provide easy access to the data. The raw genotype data will be available to accredited investigators who register individually and provide institutional confirmation of research intent. The process to obtain approval for access is under review and details will be posted by the end of November at this website.

The CGEMS study will test markers identified as promising in this scan of prostate cancer 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.

Finally, CGEMS is performing genome scan in a total of 1,200 breast cancer cases and 1,200 controls. The samples are from the Nurse’s Health Study.