Genetic variants in 5-HTTLPR, BDNF, HTR1A, COMT, and FKBP5 and risk for treated depression after cancer diagnosis.

This study of elderly people indicates that it is unlikely that the investigated genetic variants are clinically relevantly associated with depression after diagnosis of cancer. The mechanisms for gene-environment interactions in younger individuals are probably different, and we advise caution in extrapolating our results to early life stress. However, conclusion from the present study might be generalizable to elderly persons exposed to other stressful life events.