title: 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.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Biology & Epigenetics Group - Research Center of Portuguese Oncology Institute - Porto (CI-IPOP), Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Costa-Pinheiro
authors.affiliation: Cancer Biology & Epigenetics Group - Research Center of Portuguese Oncology Institute - Porto (CI-IPOP), Porto, Portugal.|Department of Pathology, Portuguese Oncology Institute - Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Montezuma
authors.affiliation: Cancer Biology & Epigenetics Group - Research Center of Portuguese Oncology Institute - Porto (CI-IPOP), Porto, Portugal.|Department of Pathology, Portuguese Oncology Institute - Porto, Porto, Portugal.|Department of Pathology & Molecular Immunology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS) - University of Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Henrique
authors.affiliation: Cancer Biology & Epigenetics Group - Research Center of Portuguese Oncology Institute - Porto (CI-IPOP), Porto, Portugal.|Department of Pathology & Molecular Immunology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS) - University of Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jerónimo
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics*; D018899:CpG Islands; D019175:DNA Methylation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D057890:Epigenomics / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor
keywords: bladder; breast; cancer; colorectal; diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers; epigenetics; kidney; lung; prostate