An information-theoretic analysis of genetics, gender and age in cancer patients

Atwal, G. S., Rabadan, R., Lozano, G., Strong, L. C., Ruijs, M. W., Schmidt, M. K., van't Veer, L. J., Nevanlinna, H., Tommiska, J., Aittomaki, K., Bougeard, G., Frebourg, T., Levine, A. J., Bond, G. L. (April 2008) An information-theoretic analysis of genetics, gender and age in cancer patients. PLoS ONE, 3 (4). e1951. ISSN 1932-6203 (Electronic)

[thumbnail of Paper]
Preview
PDF (Paper)
Atwal PLoS One 2008.pdf - Published Version

Download (199kB) | Preview
URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18398474
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0001951

Abstract

Germline genetics, gender and hormonal-signaling pathways are all well described modifiers of cancer risk and progression. Although an improved understanding of how germline genetic variants interact with other cancer risk factors may allow better prevention and treatment of human cancer, measuring and quantifying these interactions is challenging. In other areas of research, Information Theory has been used to quantitatively describe similar multivariate interactions. We implemented a novel information-theoretic analysis to measure the joint effect of a high frequency germline genetic variant of the p53 tumor suppressor pathway (MDM2 SNP309 T/G) and gender on clinical cancer phenotypes. This analysis quantitatively describes synergistic interactions among gender, the MDM2 SNP309 locus, and the age of onset of tumorigenesis in p53 mutation carriers. These results offer a molecular and genetic basis for the observed sexual dimorphism of cancer risk in p53 mutation carriers and a model is proposed that suggests a novel cancer prevention strategy for p53 mutation carriers.

Item Type: Paper
Uncontrolled Keywords: Age Factors Female Genes, p53 Genetic Predisposition to Disease Genetic Variation Germ-Line Mutation Humans Male Medical Informatics Models, Theoretical Mutation Neoplasms/ genetics/ pathology Phenotype Sex Characteristics Sex Factors Signal Transduction
Subjects: bioinformatics
diseases & disorders > cancer
diseases & disorders
epidemiology
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Atwal lab
Depositing User: Matt Covey
Date: 9 April 2008
Date Deposited: 26 Feb 2013 17:31
Last Modified: 26 Feb 2013 17:31
PMCID: PMC2276689
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/27550

Actions (login required)

Administrator's edit/view item Administrator's edit/view item
CSHL HomeAbout CSHLResearchEducationNews & FeaturesCampus & Public EventsCareersGiving