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At the interfaces of epidemiology, genetics and genomics

Nature Reviews Genetics volume 2, pages 142–147 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

You come onto the court prepared for tennis but your partner seems to be ready for rugby. Neither of you is at all sure what it is that your opponent wants to play. The only recourse is to teach each other the rules of your own game and then decide whether you can collectively invent a new sport. Welcome to the dialogue at the intersections of epidemiology with genetics and genomics.

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Figure 1: Experimental and observational designs for microarray gene-expression studies.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, 98109-1024, Washington, USA

    John D. Potter

Authors
  1. John D. Potter
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Related links

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DATABASE LINKS

adenomatous polyposis of the colon

BRCA1

RB

Apc

MSH2

hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer

NAT1

NAT2

MTHFR

non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

APOE

FURTHER INFORMATION

National Human Genome Research Institute's glossary of genetic terms

Gene Ontology Consortium

John D. Potter homepage

Glossary

COHORT STUDY

Observational study of people with known levels of exposures to causal or protective agents, who are followed over a period of time; disease rates are compared between the exposed and the unexposed.

CROSS-OVER STUDY

Randomized (experimental) study in which all study subjects undergo all treatments in a random order.

CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Observational study of characteristics of groups: often those with, versus those without, disease at a single point in time.

FIELD EFFECT

Widespread molecular changes in normal or relatively normal tissue that predispose a person to cancer.

POWER CALCULATION

An estimation of the ability of a given study size and design to provide a measure of relative risk within a preset limit of precision or with a preset likelihood of providing a false positive and false null finding.

XENOBIOTICS

Biologically active molecules that can be ingested or inhaled and that include potential carcinogens, such as heterocyclic amines, and potentially cancer-protective compounds, such as indoles.

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Potter, J. At the interfaces of epidemiology, genetics and genomics. Nat Rev Genet 2, 142–147 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35052575

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