Epigenetic homogeneity within colorectal tumors predicts shorter relapse-free and overall survival times for patients with locoregional cancer

Background & aims: there are few validated biomarkers that can be used to predict outcomes for patients with colorectal cancer. Part of the challenge is the genetic and molecular heterogeneity of colorectal tumors not only among patients, but also within tumors. We have explored intratumor heter...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Martínez Cardús, Anna, Moran, Sebastian, Musulén, Eva, Moutinho, Cátia, Manzano, José Luis, Martínez Balibrea, Eva, Tierno, Montserrat, Élez, Elena, Landolfi, Stefania, Lorden, Patricia, Arribas, Carles, Müller, Fabian, Bock, Christoph, Esteller, Manel, 1968-
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/114168
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/114168
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Epigènesi
Marcadors bioquímics
ADN
Metilació
Càncer colorectal
Malalts de càncer
Epigenesis
Biochemical markers
DNA
Methylation
Colorectal cancer
Cancer patients
Descripción
Sumario:Background & aims: there are few validated biomarkers that can be used to predict outcomes for patients with colorectal cancer. Part of the challenge is the genetic and molecular heterogeneity of colorectal tumors not only among patients, but also within tumors. We have explored intratumor heterogeneity at the epigenetic level, due to its dynamic nature. We analyzed DNA methylation profiles of the digestive tract surface and the central bulk and invasive front regions of colorectal tumors. Methods: we determined the DNA methylation profiles of >450,000 CpG sites in 3 macrodissected regions of 79 colorectal tumors and 23 associated liver metastases, obtained from 2 hospitals in Spain. We also analyzed samples for KRAS and BRAF mutations, 499,170 single nucleotide polymorphisms, and performed immunohistochemical analyses. Results: we observed differences in DNA methylation among the 3 tumor sections; regions of tumor−host interface differed the most from the other tumor sections. Interestingly, tumor samples collected from areas closer to the gastrointestinal transit most frequently shared methylation events with metastases. When we calculated individual coefficients to quantify heterogeneity, we found that epigenetic homogeneity was significantly associated with short time of relapse-free survival (log-rank P = .037) and short time of overall survival (log-rank P = .026) in patients with locoregional colorectal cancer. Conclusions: in an analysis of 79 colorectal tumors, we found significant heterogeneity in patterns of DNA methylation within each tumor; the level of heterogeneity correlates with times of relapse-free and overall survival.