Diagnostic and Prognostic Epigenetic Biomarkers in Cancer

Abstract

Growing cancer incidence and mortality worldwide demands development of accurate biomarkers to perfect detection, diagnosis, prognostication and monitoring. Urologic (prostate, bladder, kidney), lung, breast and colorectal cancers are the most common and despite major advances in their characterization, this has seldom translated into biomarkers amenable for clinical practice. Epigenetic alterations are innovative cancer biomarkers owing to stability, frequency, reversibility and accessibility in body fluids, entailing great potential of assay development to assist in patient management. Several studies identified putative epigenetic cancer biomarkers, some of which have been commercialized. However, large multicenter validation studies are required to foster translation to the clinics. Herein we review the most promising epigenetic detection, diagnostic, prognostic and predictive biomarkers for the most common cancers.

Keywords::

• bladder
• breast
• cancer
• colorectal
• diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers
• epigenetics
• kidney
• lung
• prostate

Acknowledgements

The authors thank graphic designer M Felizardo for kindly assisting in the design of Figure 1.

Financial&competing interests disclosure

This study was funded by Research Center of the Portuguese Oncology Institute – Porto (CI-IPOP 4-2012). D Montezuma is supported by a fellowship from FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/97998/2013). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by Research Center of the Portuguese Oncology Institute – Porto (CI-IPOP 4-2012). D Montezuma is supported by a fellowship from FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/97998/2013). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.