We have already explained why genetic discoveries require large samples, but these can be slow and expensive to collect. Volunteers in ongoing clinical trials offer an attractive alternative. Although they represent a heterogeneous group in terms of ascertainment, diagnosis, and treatments employed, the many ongoing clinical trials may collectively constitute a reasonably representative sample of the population, well suited to large-scale genetic studies. We need a coordinated effort by academia, industry, and government to begin collecting DNA in clinical trials and to send the samples and associated data -- in anonymous form -- to a central repository, where they can be used to fuel future large-scale studies.
