For SMAD4, the θ values for coding variants in cases and controls (θ = 3.99 × 10-4 and 3.71 × 10-4, respectively) is comparable to that reported by Cargill et al., (θ = 5.43 × 10-4) and Halushka et al., (4.5 × 10-4), with standard deviations overlapping, indicating that SMAD4 is not preferentially altered in the germline for breast cancer. The gene discussed is SMAD4; the disease is breast cancer.