The overall goal of radiogenomics is the identification of genomic markers that 
are predictive for the development of adverse effects resulting from cancer 
treatment with radiation. The principal rationale for a focus on toxicity in 
radiogenomics is that for many patients treated with radiation, especially 
individuals diagnosed with early-stage cancers, the survival rates are high, and 
therefore a substantial number of people will live for a significant period of 
time beyond treatment. However, many of these patients could suffer from 
debilitating complications resulting from radiotherapy. Work in radiogenomics 
has greatly benefited from creation of the Radiogenomics Consortium (RGC) that 
includes investigators at multiple institutions located in a variety of 
countries. The common goal of the RGC membership is to share biospecimens and 
data so as to achieve large-scale studies with increased statistical power to 
enable identification of relevant genomic markers. A major aim of research in 
radiogenomics is the development of a predictive instrument to enable 
identification of people who are at greatest risk for adverse effects resulting 
from cancer treatment using radiation. It is anticipated that creation of a 
predictive assay characterized by a high level of sensitivity and specificity 
will improve precision radiotherapy and assist patients and their physicians to 
select the optimal treatment for each individual.