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

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. 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.