GWAS identify new risk loci in allergies and breast cancer

Three genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified new genetic markers associated with an increased risk of food allergies and breast cancer.

In a paper published in Nature Communications, researchers at the Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine Berlin-Buch and colleagues conducted GWAS and meta-analyses and identified five food allergy susceptibility loci, including the serpin clade B (SERPINB) gene cluster, which had not previously been linked to allergies. Of the five potential biomarkers, four are associated with an increased risk of any food allergy. The team also confirmed that the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) locus is associated specifically with peanut allergy, as reported in previous studies...