Septin 9 methylation analysis of lymph node micrometastases for predicting relapse of colorectal cancer.

Background: Molecular markers for the detection of lymph node micrometastases of malignant tumors have been extensively investigated. However, epigenetic signatures have rarely been reported for identification of metastatic lymph nodes and disease relapse. Septin 9 is the most frequently reported hypermethylated gene in colorectal cancer (CRC).