Nonrandom Distribution of Aberrant Promoter Methylation of Cancer-Related Genes in Sporadic Breast Tumors

Abstract

Our results suggest a nonrandom distribution for promoter hypermethylation in sporadic breast cancer, with tumor subsets characterized by aberrant methylation of specific cancer-related genes. These breast cancer subgroups may represent separate biological entities with potential differences in sensitivity to therapy, occurrence of metastasis, and overall prognosis.