Molecular mechanisms of epigenetic alterations in gastrointestinal cancer and application to diagnosis and therapy

这种表观遗传改变如何促进肿瘤发展的分子机制仍有待确定。DNA甲基化还导致参与细胞信号传导的基因沉默，这反过来又导致致癌信号传导如Ras、WNT和microRNA的失调。我们发现IGFBP7的表观遗传失活在CIMP阳性结直肠癌中逃避衰老中起着关键作用。我们还发现，表观遗传信息可用于从结直肠粘膜溶液中检测癌细胞。

Molecular mechanisms how this epigenetic alterations contribute to development of tumors remains to be determined. DNA methylation also leads to silencing of genes involved in cell signaling, which in turn leads to dysregulation of the oncogenic signaling such as Ras, WNT, and microRNA. We found that epigenetic inactivation of IGFBP7 plays a critical role in escaping senescence in CIMP positive colorectal cancers. We also found that epigenetic information can be used to detect cancer cells from colorectal mucosal solution.