Epigenomics of Prostate Cancer from Cell Free Plasma

We sought to perform epigenomic characterization of prostate cancers by profiling circulating nucleosomes isolated from patient plasma using cell free chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (cfChIP-seq). Our major findings include identification of prostate-cancer specific regulatory elements using a novel statistical method accounting for variable tumor DNA fraction in plasma, inferring transcription factor activity based on binding motif enrichment within regulatory elements, and epigenetically phenotyping patients based on clinical and genomic features. Data available in dbGaP will include cfChIP-seq and targeted sequencing from approximately 50 patients with a known diagnosis of cancer and healthy patient controls. ]]>
Inclusion Criteria: Patients with a diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer. As controls, patients with a diagnosis of metastatic bladder cancer or patients with no history of cancer. Exclusion Criteria: Patients who had a diagnosis of cancer other than prostate or bladder. ]]>