DNA Methylation-Based Testing in Liquid Biopsies as Detection and Prognostic Biomarkers for the Four Major Cancer Types
Lung, breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers are the most incident worldwide. Optimal population-based cancer screening methods remain an unmet need, since cancer detection at early stages increases the prospects of successful and curative treatment, leading to a lower incidence of recurrences. Mo...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2020-03-01
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| Series: | Cells |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/9/3/624 |
| _version_ | 1797707181164855296 |
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| author | Vera Constâncio Sandra P. Nunes Rui Henrique Carmen Jerónimo |
| author_facet | Vera Constâncio Sandra P. Nunes Rui Henrique Carmen Jerónimo |
| author_sort | Vera Constâncio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Lung, breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers are the most incident worldwide. Optimal population-based cancer screening methods remain an unmet need, since cancer detection at early stages increases the prospects of successful and curative treatment, leading to a lower incidence of recurrences. Moreover, the current parameters for cancer patients’ stratification have been associated with divergent outcomes. Therefore, new biomarkers that could aid in cancer detection and prognosis, preferably detected by minimally invasive methods are of major importance. Aberrant DNA methylation is an early event in cancer development and may be detected in circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA), constituting a valuable cancer biomarker. Furthermore, DNA methylation is a stable alteration that can be easily and rapidly quantified by methylation-specific PCR methods. Thus, the main goal of this review is to provide an overview of the most important studies that report methylation biomarkers for the detection and prognosis of the four major cancers after a critical analysis of the available literature. DNA methylation-based biomarkers show promise for cancer detection and management, with some studies describing a “PanCancer” detection approach for the simultaneous detection of several cancer types. Nonetheless, DNA methylation biomarkers still lack large-scale validation, precluding implementation in clinical practice. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T06:03:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-351d19a2720b4aa7ba903436708b86cf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4409 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T06:03:33Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| spelling | doaj.art-351d19a2720b4aa7ba903436708b86cf2023-09-03T03:53:10ZengMDPI AGCells2073-44092020-03-019362410.3390/cells9030624cells9030624DNA Methylation-Based Testing in Liquid Biopsies as Detection and Prognostic Biomarkers for the Four Major Cancer TypesVera Constâncio0Sandra P. Nunes1Rui Henrique2Carmen Jerónimo3Cancer Biology & Epigenetics Group—Research Center, Portuguese Oncology Institute of Porto (CI-IPOP), 4200-072 Porto, PortugalCancer Biology & Epigenetics Group—Research Center, Portuguese Oncology Institute of Porto (CI-IPOP), 4200-072 Porto, PortugalCancer Biology & Epigenetics Group—Research Center, Portuguese Oncology Institute of Porto (CI-IPOP), 4200-072 Porto, PortugalCancer Biology & Epigenetics Group—Research Center, Portuguese Oncology Institute of Porto (CI-IPOP), 4200-072 Porto, PortugalLung, breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers are the most incident worldwide. Optimal population-based cancer screening methods remain an unmet need, since cancer detection at early stages increases the prospects of successful and curative treatment, leading to a lower incidence of recurrences. Moreover, the current parameters for cancer patients’ stratification have been associated with divergent outcomes. Therefore, new biomarkers that could aid in cancer detection and prognosis, preferably detected by minimally invasive methods are of major importance. Aberrant DNA methylation is an early event in cancer development and may be detected in circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA), constituting a valuable cancer biomarker. Furthermore, DNA methylation is a stable alteration that can be easily and rapidly quantified by methylation-specific PCR methods. Thus, the main goal of this review is to provide an overview of the most important studies that report methylation biomarkers for the detection and prognosis of the four major cancers after a critical analysis of the available literature. DNA methylation-based biomarkers show promise for cancer detection and management, with some studies describing a “PanCancer” detection approach for the simultaneous detection of several cancer types. Nonetheless, DNA methylation biomarkers still lack large-scale validation, precluding implementation in clinical practice.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/9/3/624lung cancerbreast cancercolorectal cancerprostate cancerdna methylationbiomarkerdetectionprognosisliquid biopsycell-free dna |
| spellingShingle | Vera Constâncio Sandra P. Nunes Rui Henrique Carmen Jerónimo DNA Methylation-Based Testing in Liquid Biopsies as Detection and Prognostic Biomarkers for the Four Major Cancer Types Cells lung cancer breast cancer colorectal cancer prostate cancer dna methylation biomarker detection prognosis liquid biopsy cell-free dna |
| title | DNA Methylation-Based Testing in Liquid Biopsies as Detection and Prognostic Biomarkers for the Four Major Cancer Types |
| title_full | DNA Methylation-Based Testing in Liquid Biopsies as Detection and Prognostic Biomarkers for the Four Major Cancer Types |
| title_fullStr | DNA Methylation-Based Testing in Liquid Biopsies as Detection and Prognostic Biomarkers for the Four Major Cancer Types |
| title_full_unstemmed | DNA Methylation-Based Testing in Liquid Biopsies as Detection and Prognostic Biomarkers for the Four Major Cancer Types |
| title_short | DNA Methylation-Based Testing in Liquid Biopsies as Detection and Prognostic Biomarkers for the Four Major Cancer Types |
| title_sort | dna methylation based testing in liquid biopsies as detection and prognostic biomarkers for the four major cancer types |
| topic | lung cancer breast cancer colorectal cancer prostate cancer dna methylation biomarker detection prognosis liquid biopsy cell-free dna |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/9/3/624 |
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