Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Mar 3:2019:2673543.
doi: 10.1155/2019/2673543. eCollection 2019.

Roles of Methylated DNA Biomarkers in Patients with Colorectal Cancer

Zhiyao Ma  1 , Marissa Williams  2 , Yuen Yee Cheng  2 , Wai K Leung  1
Affiliations
Review

Roles of Methylated DNA Biomarkers in Patients with Colorectal Cancer

Zhiyao Ma et al. Dis Markers. .

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cancer globally; therefore, early diagnosis and surveillance of this cancer are of paramount importance. Current methods of CRC diagnosis rely heavily on endoscopy or radiological imaging. Noninvasive tests including serum detection of the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and faecal occult blood testing (FOBT) are associated with low sensitivity and specificity, especially at early stages. DNA methylation biomarkers have recently been found to have higher accuracy in CRC detection and enhanced prediction of prognosis and chemotherapy response. The most widely studied biomarker in CRC is methylated septin 9 (SEPT9), which is the only FDA-approved methylation-based biomarker for CRC. Apart from SEPT9, other methylated biomarkers including tachykinin-1 (TAC1), somatostatin (SST), and runt-related transcription factor 3 (RUNX3) have been shown to effectively detect CRC in a multitude of sample types. This review will discuss the performances of various methylated biomarkers used for CRC diagnosis and monitoring, when used alone or in combination.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Clinical sensitivity and specificity for methylation detection through different methods. Sensitivity was calculated as a/(a + b). Specificity was calculated as d/(c + d). MSP: methylation-specific PCR; MS-HRM: methylation-sensitive high-resolution melting.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Arnold M., Sierra M. S., Laversanne M., Soerjomataram I., Jemal A., Bray F. Global patterns and trends in colorectal cancer incidence and mortality. Gut. 2017;66(4):683–691. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2015-310912. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tsoi K. K. F., Hirai H. W., Chan F. C. H., Griffiths S., Sung J. J. Y. Predicted increases in incidence of colorectal cancer in developed and developing regions, in association with ageing populations. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2017;15(6):892–900.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2016.09.155. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Locker G. Y., Hamilton S., Harris J., et al. ASCO 2006 update of recommendations for the use of tumor markers in gastrointestinal cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2006;24(33):5313–5327. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2006.08.2644. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Duffy M. J., van Dalen A., Haglund C., et al. Tumour markers in colorectal cancer: European Group on Tumour Markers (EGTM) guidelines for clinical use. European Journal of Cancer. 2007;43(9):1348–1360. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2007.03.021. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Palos G., Gilmore K. R., Chapman P., Lewis-Patterson P., Bi W., Rodriguez M. A. Abstract 3464: low concordance with CEA tumor marker monitoring in colorectal cancer survivors. Cancer Research. 2016;76(Supplement 14):p. 3464. doi: 10.1158/1538-7445.AM2016-3464. - DOI

Substances