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Tracy Hampton, PhD

JAMA. 2008;300(18):2105-2106.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Although scientists have long understood that cancer is ultimately a disorder related to malfunctioning genes, an appreciation that not all such malfunctions involve mutations of DNA is more recent. Studies have demonstrated that cancer also can be caused when methylation, the process by which methyl (CH3) groups are attached to DNA bases, goes awry.

Research endeavors focused on this topic were presented recently in Philadelphia at a conference on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development, convened by the American Association for Cancer Research. Such work could expand oncologists' diagnostic and treatment tools for detecting and managing a variety of types of cancer.

Because attachment of methyl groups to DNA can play a role in cancer, screening tools that assess DNA methylation levels may be useful for detecting cancer at an early stage.

"The methylation field, after many years of concentrating on the basic science, is starting to . . . [Full Text of this Article]

FIRST CLINICAL TEST



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