Genomics Inform.  2016 Jun;14(2):46-52. 10.5808/GI.2016.14.2.46.

Classification of Colon Cancer Patients Based on the Methylation Patterns of Promoters

• Choi W
• Lee J
• Lee JY
• Lee SM
• Kim DW
• Kim YJ

• KMID: 2328165
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5808/GI.2016.14.2.46

Abstract

Diverse somatic mutations have been reported to serve as cancer drivers. Recently, it has also been reported that epigenetic regulation is closely related to cancer development. However, the effect of epigenetic changes on cancer is still elusive. In this study, we analyzed DNA methylation data on colon cancer taken from The Caner Genome Atlas. We found that several promoters were significantly hypermethylated in colon cancer patients. Through clustering analysis of differentially methylated DNA regions, we were able to define subgroups of patients and observed clinical features associated with each subgroup. In addition, we analyzed the functional ontology of aberrantly methylated genes and identified the G-protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway as one of the major pathways affected epigenetically. In conclusion, our analysis shows the possibility of characterizing the clinical features of colon cancer subgroups based on DNA methylation patterns and provides lists of important genes and pathways possibly involved in colon cancer development.

Keyword

colon neoplasm; CpG islands; DNA methylation; epigenomics

MeSH Terms

Classification*
Colon*
Colonic Neoplasms*
CpG Islands
DNA
DNA Methylation
Epigenomics
Genome
Humans
Methylation*
DNA