What Are the Patterns of DNA Methylation in Cancer?
In cancer, DNA methylation patterns are often disrupted. Two primary alterations are observed: global hypomethylation and regional hypermethylation. Global hypomethylation refers to the widespread loss of methyl groups across the genome, which can lead to genomic instability and activation of oncogenes. Regional hypermethylation, on the other hand, typically occurs at CpG islands in the promoter regions of tumor suppressor genes, leading to their silencing.
