Impact of gene reactivation by DNA demethylation on prognosis of patients with metastatic colon cancer.

Background: The expression of the membrane receptor protein GFRA1 is frequently upregulated in many cancers, which can promote cancer development by activating the classic RET-RAS-ERK and RET-RAS-PI3K-AKT pathways. Several therapeutic anti-GFRA1 antibody-drug conjugates are under development. Demethylation (or hypomethylation) of CpG islands (dmGFRA1) is associated with increased gene expression and metastasis risk of gastric cancer.