"Replication is essential in genome wide association studies," says Dr. Jenkins. "Replication across independent patient populations is critical in establishing a real association between glioblastomas and the presence of these SNPs in the genome of patients with that type of brain tumor."

Researchers on the study include Karla Ballman, Ph.D., Jan Buckner, M.D., Paul Decker, Caterina Giannini, M.D., Ph.D., Chandralekha Halder, Thomas Kollmeyer, Matthew Kosel, Daniel LaChance, M.D., Brian O'Neill, M.D., Amanda Rynearson, and Ping Yang, M.D., Ph.D., all of Mayo Clinic; Margaret Wrensch, Ph.D., Jeffrey Chang, M.D., Ph.D., Ru-Fang Yeh, Ph.D., Yuanuan Xiao, Ph.D., Mitchel Berger, M.D., Susan Chang, M.D., Lucie McCoy, Joe Patoka, Alexander Pico, Michael Prados, M.D., Terri Rice, Ivan Smirnov, Tarik Tihan, M.D., Ph.D., Joe Wiemels, Ph.D., and John Wiencke, Ph.D., all of the University of California San Francisco; and Charles Quesenberry, Ph.D., of Kaiser Permanente, Oakland.

Research was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute (including the UCSF and Mayo Clinic Brain Tumor Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPOREs), the National Brain Tumor Foundation, the UCSF Lewis Chair in Brain Tumor Research, the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, the families and friends of John Berardi, Helen Glaser and Elvera Olsen, and the Bernie and Edith Waterman Foundation.

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