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DNA Methylation, a Biomarker for Colorectal Cancer
Author(s) -
JUBB ADRIAN M.,
QUIRKE PHIL,
OATES ADAM J.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2003.tb05980.x
Subject(s) - epigenetics , dna methylation , biomarker , colorectal cancer , carcinogenesis , disease , cancer , cancer epigenetics , medicine , biology , cancer research , oncology , bioinformatics , pathology , genetics , gene , gene expression , histone methyltransferase
A bstract : Currently up to one‐third of colorectal cancer patients present with locally advanced or metastatic disease that precludes a surgical cure. Performance limitations and low uptake of current screening tools have fueled research to develop minimally invasive approaches that can detect early‐stage neoplasms. The observation that altered DNA can be amplified from the stool or circulation has stimulated research on its use as a biomarker of occult neoplasia. De novo methylation of CpG islands 5′ to certain tumor suppressor genes has been associated with epigenetic silencing. At certain loci this phenomenon is specific for neoplastic populations, and it is frequently detected at early stages in colorectal tumorigenesis. Accordingly, hypermethylation events have been proposed by researchers as ideal targets for the basis of a screening panel to detect peripheral tumor DNA. This critique reviews research findings on the use of epigenetic biomarkers in screening for occult neoplasia. In addition, the authors consider the pathological utility of epigenetic testing in refining tumor staging and predicting disease recurrence.