Pancreatic Cancer Patient Survival Correlates with DNA Methylation of Pancreas Development Genes. Homo sapiens

DNA methylation is an epigenetic mark associated with regulation of transcription and genome structure. These markers have been investigated in a variety of cancer settings for their utility in differentiating normal tissue from tumor tissue. Here, we examine the direct correlation between DNA methylation and patient survival. We find that changes in the DNA methylation of key pancreatic developmental genes is strongly associated with patient survival. Overall design: 16 total pancreatic samples including 11 tumors, 2 normal, and 3 pancreatitis were sequenced using Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing in order to measure the methylation status of CpG sites. These data were then examined for correlation with donor survival time.

DNA甲基化（DNA methylation）是一类与转录调控及基因组结构维持相关的表观遗传标记。这类标记已在多种癌症情境中被广泛研究，以探索其区分正常组织与肿瘤组织的应用价值。本研究旨在探究DNA甲基化与患者生存期之间的直接关联。我们发现，关键胰腺发育基因的DNA甲基化变化与患者生存期显著相关。实验设计：本研究共纳入16份胰腺样本，其中包括11份肿瘤组织、2份正常组织及3份胰腺炎组织，采用简化代表性亚硫酸氢盐测序（Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing）对CpG位点的甲基化状态进行检测。随后，我们对上述测序数据展开分析，以探究其与供体生存期的相关性。