ATM and cancer: More and more geneticists are beginning to appreciate the role of candidate gene approach.9, 10 In general, candidate gene refers to the gene with known biological function in directly or indirectly regulating the investigated traits.11 Candidate gene approach has been widely applied to genetic association studies.12, 13 Using this approach, we genotyped 2 candidate genes, HMGB1 and RAGE, and found a cumulative impact of multiple variants on breast cancer risk.14 In this study, we focused on 2 cancer‐predisposing genes, ATM and BMI‐1, in association with breast cancer.