A minimal DNA 5-methylcytosine signature of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma [methylation]. Homo sapiens

Oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas (OTSCC) are a homogenous group of aggressive tumors in the head and neck region, with a rising incidence among younger population. The role of altered DNA methylation in OTSCC and its link with clinical parameters has not been fully assessed yet. We performed genome-wide methylation analysis of oral tongue primary tumors (n = 52) using 485, 512 probes and correlated altered methylation with differences in gene expression. We used an ensemble machine-learning algorithm to identify differentially methylated probes and regions predictive of survival, risk habits, nodal status, tumor stage, and HPV infection followed by validation using data from the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) project on oral tongue (n = 24) and tumors from all subsites of head and neck region (n = 50). Overall design: Bisulphite converted DNA from the 52 tumor:matched control sample pairs were hybridised to the Illumina Infinium 450k Human Methylation Beadchip