A DNA Methylation-Based Test for Breast Cancer Detection in Circulating Cell-Free DNA.

Background: Breast cancer (BrC) is the most frequent neoplasm in women. New biomarkers, including aberrant DNA methylation, may improve BrC management. Herein, we evaluated the detection and prognostic performance of seven genes' promoter methylation (, , , , , and ).

Cell-Free DNA Methylation of Selected Genes Allows for Early Detection of the Major Cancers in Women.

Background: Breast (BrC), colorectal (CRC) and lung (LC) cancers are the three most common and deadly cancers in women. Cancer screening entails an increase in early stage disease detection but is hampered by high false-positive rates and overdiagnosis/overtreatment. Aberrant DNA methylation occurs early in cancer and may be detected in circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA), constituting a valuable biomarker and enabling non-invasive testing for cancer detection.

The epigenetics of testicular germ cell tumors: looking for novel disease biomarkers.

Testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) are a group of heterogeneous, biologically diverse and clinically challenging neoplasms. Despite the relatively low incidence and mortality rates, a subgroup of patients with disseminated disease relapse after conventional therapy and have a dismal prognosis. Moreover, TGCT afflict mostly young men and have therapeutic peculiarities, with some patients showing resistance to cisplatin-based treatments and others being troubled by irreversible side effects, such as infertility.

Deciphering the function of non-coding RNAs in prostate cancer.

The advent of next-generation sequencing methods is fuelling the discovery of multiple non-coding RNA transcripts with direct implication in cell biology and homeostasis. This new layer of biological regulation seems to be of particular importance in human pathogenesis, including cancer. The aberrant expression of ncRNAs is a feature of prostate cancer, as they promote tumor-suppressive or oncogenic activities, controlling multicellular events leading to carcinogenesis and tumor progression.