title: DNA methylation profiling reveals a predominant immune component in breast cancers.
abstract: Breast cancer is a molecularly, biologically and clinically heterogeneous group of disorders. Understanding this diversity is essential to improving diagnosis and optimizing treatment. Both genetic and acquired epigenetic abnormalities participate in cancer, but the involvement of the epigenome in breast cancer and its contribution to the complexity of the disease are still poorly understood. By means of DNA methylation profiling of 248 breast tissues, we have highlighted the existence of previously unrecognized breast cancer groups that go beyond the currently known 'expression subtypes'. Interestingly, we showed that DNA methylation profiling can reflect the cell type composition of the tumour microenvironment, and in particular a T lymphocyte infiltration of the tumours. Further, we highlighted a set of immune genes having high prognostic value in specific tumour categories. The immune component uncovered here by DNA methylation profiles provides a new perspective for the importance of the microenvironment in breast cancer, holding implications for better management of breast cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cancer Epigenetics, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dedeurwaerder
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Desmedt
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Calonne
authors.forename: Sandeep K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Singhal
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Haibe-Kains
authors.forename: Matthieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Defrance
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Michiels
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Volkmar
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Deplus
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luciani
authors.forename: Françoise
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lallemand
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Larsimont
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Toussaint
authors.forename: Sandy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haussy
authors.forename: Françoise
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rothé
authors.forename: Ghizlane
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rouas
authors.forename: Otto
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Metzger
authors.forename: Samira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Majjaj
authors.forename: Kamal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saini
authors.forename: Pascale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Putmans
authors.forename: Gérald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hames
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: van Baren
authors.forename: Pierre G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Coulie
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piccart
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sotiriou
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fuks
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019175:DNA Methylation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*