A Methylation-Based Signature Predicts Survival In Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patient

Epigenetic deregulation is a critical event in human malignancies. A number of DNA methylation markers are currently under evaluation as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for many cancers. However, its potential role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is under-explored. Aims: To develop a DNA methylation-based prognostic signature in surgically resected HCC Tumors from 224 HCC resected patients, 10 normal Liver individuals and 9 Cirrhotic patients were analyzed. Methylome profiling was done with Illumina HumanMethylation450 (485,000 CpG, 96% of known CpG islands). We selected probes in CpG islands located in promoters, hypermethylated (B value higher than 50%) in at least 5% of the tumors and hypomethylated (B value lower than 33%) in more than 90% of normal liver.