Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone malignancy of adolescents
and young adults. To better understand the genetic etiology of
osteosarcoma, we performed a multistage genome-wide association study
consisting of 941 individuals with osteosarcoma (cases) and 3,291
cancer-free adult controls of European ancestry. Two loci achieved
genome-wide significance: a locus in the GRM4 gene at 6p21.3 (encoding
glutamate receptor metabotropic 4; rs1906953; P = 8.1 x 10(-9)) and a
locus in the gene desert at 2p25.2 (rs7591996 and rs10208273; P = 1.0 x
10(-8) and 2.9 x 10(-7), respectively). These two loci warrant further
exploration to uncover the biological mechanisms underlying
susceptibility to osteosarcoma
