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In melanoma, the presence of promoter related hypermethylation has previously been reported, however, no methylation-based distinction has been drawn among the diverse melanoma subtypes. Here, we investigated DNA methylation changes associated with melanoma progression and links between methylation patterns and other types of somatic alterations, including the most frequent mutations and DNA copy number changes. Our results revealed that the methylome, presenting in early stage samples and associated with the BRAFV600E mutation, gradually decreased in the medium and late stages of the disease. An inverse relationship among the other predefined groups and promoter methylation was also revealed except for histologic subtype, whereas the more aggressive, nodular subtype melanomas exhibited hypermethylation as well. The Breslow thickness, which is a continuous variable, allowed for the most precise insight into how promoter methylation decreases from stage to stage. Integrating our methylation results with a high-throughput copy number alteration dataset, local correlations were detected in the MYB and EYA4 genes. With regard to the effects of DNA hypermethylation on melanoma patients' survival, correcting for clinical cofounders, only the KIT gene was associated with a lower overall survival rate. In this study, we demonstrate the strong influence of promoter localized DNA methylation changes on melanoma initiation and show how hypermethylation decreases in melanomas associated with less favourable clinical outcomes. Furthermore, we establish the methylation pattern as part of an integrated apparatus of somatic DNA alterations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified many genetic susceptibility loci for colorectal cancer (CRC). However, variants in these loci explain only a small proportion of familial aggregation, and there are likely additional variants that are associated with CRC susceptibility. Genome-wide studies of gene-environment interactions may identify variants that are not detected in GWAS of marginal gene effects. To study this, we conducted a genome-wide analysis for interaction between genetic variants and alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking using data from the Colon Cancer Family Registry (CCFR) and the Genetics and Epidemiology of Colorectal Cancer Consortium (GECCO). Interactions were tested using logistic regression. We identified interaction between CRC risk and alcohol consumption and variants in the 9q22.32/HIATL1 (Pinteraction = 1.76×10−8; permuted p-value 3.51x10-8) region. Compared to non-/occasional drinking light to moderate alcohol consumption was associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer among individuals with rs9409565 CT genotype (OR, 0.82 [95% CI, 0.74–0.91]; P = 2.1×10−4) and TT genotypes (OR,0.62 [95% CI, 0.51–0.75]; P = 1.3×10−6) but not associated among those with the CC genotype (p = 0.059). No genome-wide statistically significant interactions were observed for smoking. If replicated our suggestive finding of a genome-wide significant interaction between genetic variants and alcohol consumption might contribute to understanding colorectal cancer etiology and identifying subpopulations with differential susceptibility to the effect of alcohol on CRC risk.

Background: Despite the extensive research approaches applied to characterise malignant melanoma, no specific molecular markers are available that are clearly related to the progression of this disease. In this study, our aims were to define a gene expression signature associated with the clinical outcome of melanoma patients and to provide an integrative interpretation of the gene expression -, copy number alterations -, and promoter methylation patterns that contribute to clinically relevant molecular functional alterations. Methods: Gene expression profiles were determined using the Affymetrix U133 Plus2.0 array. The NimbleGen Human CGH Whole-Genome Tiling array was used to define CNAs, and the Illumina GoldenGate Methylation platform was applied to characterise the methylation patterns of overlapping genes. Results: We identified two subclasses of primary melanoma: one representing patients with better prognoses and the other being characteristic of patients with unfavourable outcomes. We assigned 1,080 genes as being significantly correlated with ulceration, 987 genes were downregulated and significantly enriched in the p53, Nf-kappaB, and WNT/beta-catenin pathways. Through integrated genome analysis, we defined 150 downregulated genes whose expression correlated with copy number losses in ulcerated samples. These genes were significantly enriched on chromosome 6q and 10q, which contained a total of 36 genes. Ten of these genes were downregulated and involved in cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion or apoptosis. The expression and methylation patterns of additional genes exhibited an inverse correlation, suggesting that transcriptional silencing of these genes is driven by epigenetic events. Conclusion: Using an integrative genomic approach, we were able to identify functionally relevant molecular hotspots characterised by copy number losses and promoter hypermethylation in distinct molecular subtypes of melanoma that contribute to specific transcriptomic silencing and might indicate a poor clinical outcome of melanoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]