Epigenome-wide association study in hepatocellular carcinoma: Identification of stochastic epigenetic mutations through an innovative statistical approach.

ABSTRACT: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) results from accumulation of both genetic and epigenetic alterations. We investigated the genome-wide DNA methylation profile in 69 pairs of HCC and adjacent non-cancerous liver tissues using the Infinium HumanMethylation 450K BeadChip array. An innovative analytical approach has been adopted to identify Stochastic Epigenetic Mutations (SEMs) in HCC.HCC and peritumoral tissues showed a different epigenetic profile, mainly characterized by loss of DNA methylation in HCC. Total number of SEMs was significantly higher in HCC tumor (median: 77,370) than in peritumoral (median: 5,656) tissues and correlated with tumor grade. A significant positive association emerged between SEMs measured in peritumoral tissue and hepatitis B and/or C virus infection status. A res

SUBMITTER: Gentilini D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5522036 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature