Genetic risk assessment technology for epithelial cancer involving gene-environment interaction between ercc5 and tobacco use

A method of diagnosing an epithelial premalignancy in an individual comprising the steps of:

• obtaining a biological sample from an individual;
• detecting whether an ERCC5 variant is present in the biological sample;
• and
• diagnosing the individual with an epithelial premalignancy if the ERCC5 variant is present in the biological sample.

A method of identifying an individual at risk for developing an epithelial cancer comprising the steps of:

• obtaining a biological sample from an individual;
• detecting whether an ERCC5 variant is present in the biological sample;
• and
• identifying the individual as being at risk for developing epithelial cancer if the ERCC5 variant is present in the biological sample.

A method for prognosing epithelial cancer in an individual comprising the steps of:

• obtaining a biological sample from an individual;
• detecting whether an ERCC5 variant is present in the biological sample;
• and
• correlating the presence of an ERCC5 variant with an indication of an unfavorable prognosis.

A method of screening an individual at risk for developing an epithelial cancer comprising the steps of:

• obtaining a biological sample from an individual;
• identifying the ERCC5 genotype of the individual;
• obtaining tobacco exposure information for the individual;
• and
• determining the individual is at risk for developing an epithelial cancer if the individual has a T at position 298 of SEQ ID NO:1 and if the individual is exposed to tobacco.