the whole-genome methylation profile of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Both genetic and epigenetic aberrations are linked by intricate crosstalk, and can either individually or in synergy lead to the development of cancer. Accumulating evidence suggests that epigenetic changes such as alterations in DNA methylation play a crucial role in ESCC. We performed a Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip to examine the global methylation signature of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma of Chinese patients. DNA methylation profiles of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (4 samples), paired adjacent normal surrounding tissues (4 samples) and normal esophagus mucosa from healthy individuals (4 samples) were generated using Infinium methylation 450K BeadChips from Illumina (Illumina, San Diego, USA).