Evidence of DNA methylation heterogeneity and epipolymorphism in kidney cancer tissue samples.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is characterised by significant genetic heterogeneity, which has diagnostic and prognostic implications. Very limited evidence is available regarding DNA methylation heterogeneity. We therefore generate sequence level DNA methylation data on 136 multi-region tumour and normal kidney tissue from 18 ccRCC patients, along with matched whole exome sequencing (85 samples) and gene expression (47 samples) data on a subset of samples.

Prostate cancer detection through unbiased capture of methylated cell-free DNA.

Prostate cancer screening using prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has been shown to reduce mortality but with substantial overdiagnosis, leading to unnecessary biopsies. The identification of a highly specific biomarker using liquid biopsies, represents an unmet need in the diagnostic pathway for prostate cancer. In this study, we employed a method that enriches for methylated cell-free DNA fragments coupled with a machine learning algorithm which enabled the detection of metastatic and localized cancers with AUCs of 0.