Although a germline SNP in the DSCAM gene has been found to be associated with shortened overall survival in response to chemotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer [59], and somatic mutations in this gene have been found in approximately 40 different types of tumour ([60]; S8 Table), to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an association between a germline variant in the DSCAM gene and susceptibility to cancer. The gene discussed is DSCAM; the disease is cancer.