title: MyelomA Genetics International Consortium.
abstract: While the etiology of multiple myeloma (MM) is largely unknown, evidence for an inherited genetic susceptibility is provided by the two-fold increased risk of the disease seen in first-degree relatives of cases of MM. It is likely that part of this heritable risk is a consequence of the co-inheritance of low-risk genetic variants. The accumulated experience to date in identifying risk variants for other tumors has highlighted difficulties in conducting statistically and methodologically rigorous studies. The MyelomA Genetics International Consortium (MAGIC) includes 16 research groups in Europe, Asia, Australasia, the Middle East and the Americas engaged in studying the genetics of MM. The first goal of MAGIC is to identify and characterize common genetic variants for MM through association-based analyses. Here, we review the rationale for identifying genetic risk variants for MM and our proposed strategy for establishing MAGIC.
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK. gareth.morgan@icr.ac
authors.forename: Gareth
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.forename: Hans Erik
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Johnsen
authors.forename: Hartmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Goldschmidt
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Palumbo
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cavo
authors.forename: Pieter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sonneveld
authors.forename: Jesus San
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Miguel
authors.forename: Char Sang
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Chim
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Browne
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Einsele
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Waage
authors.forename: Ingemar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Turesson
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hajek
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ludwig
authors.forename: Kari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hemminki
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Houlston
mesh_terms: D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D007390:International Agencies; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000235:genetics*