Genome-Wide Association Study to Identify SNPs and CNPs Associated with Development of Radiation Injury in Prostate Cancer Patients Treated with Radiotherapy

The hypothesis that forms the basis for this research is that patients who possess certain SNPs or CNPs are at a greater risk for developing severe urinary morbidity or ED resulting from radiotherapy for prostate cancer. The specific aim of this project is to identify through a genome wide association study the SNPs and CNPs associated with the development of severe urinary morbidity and ED resulting from the use of radiation to treat prostate cancer. It should be noted that we may also identify SNPs or CNPs that are associated with protection against the development of these forms of radiation injury. The main accomplishment of the third year was substantial progress on the validation phase of the project. Specifically, we selected approximately 5,000 SNPs from the discovery phase of the GWAS and have begun to genotype the 600 samples that comprise the validation cohort.