Genome-Wide DNA Methylation Profiles of Low- and High-Grade Adenoma Reveals Potential Biomarkers for Early Diagnosis of Colorectal Carcinoma

Abnormal DNA methylation is a hallmark of human cancers and may be a promising biomarker for early diagnosis of human cancers1. However, the majority of DNA methylation biomarkers that have been identified are based on the hypothesis that early differential methylation regions (DMRs) are maintained throughout carcinogenesis and could be detected at all stages of cancer. In this study, we identified potential early biomarkers of colorectal cancer (CRC) development by genome-wide DNA methylation assay (Illumina infinium450, 450K) to normal (N=20) and pre-colorectal cancer samples including 18 low-grade adenoma (LGA) and 22 high-grade adenoma (HGA). Bisulphite converted DNA from the 60 samples were hybridised to the Illumina Infinium 450k Human Methylation Beadchip