genes were not previously suspected of being related to the disease. Some, such as the strong associations of prostate cancer with SNPs in the 8q24 region (47) and Crohn’s disease with the 5p13 region (34), have been in genomic regions containing no known genes at all. And because current genotyping assays capture the vast majority of human variation genome-wide, rather than being focused on particular regions or pathways, once a GWA scan is completed it can be applied to any condition or trait measured in that same individual and consistent with his or her informed consent.
