Researchers from Stanford University have identified 380 major genetic variants that significantly affect the risk of developing cancer. The findings of the study were published in the journal Nature Genetics, reports News Medical Life Sciences.

Thousands of single changes in the nucleotides that make up the human genome have been associated with an increased risk of developing cancer. But until now, it's not been clear which are directly responsible for the uncontrolled cellular growth that is the hallmark of the disease and which are simply coincidences or minor players.

To fill this gap in knowledge, researchers conducted the first large-scale screen of these inherited changes, called single nucleotide variants. Genetic samples were collected from millions of people diagnosed with any of the 13 most common cancer types.

The study homed in on fewer than 400 that are essential to initiate and drive cancer growth. And this enormous funnel of data enabled to identify 380 variants that control the expression of one or more cancer-associated genes.

The study focused on DNA sequences inherited at conception, known as a person's germline genome, rather than on mutations that can accumulate during a person's lifetime as cells divide during development or to repair injury. And this means that the database of genetic variants they create could in the future be used in order to predict cancer risk.