Genome-wide combination profiling of copy number and methylation offers an approach for deciphering misregulation and development in cancer cells

Copy number changes and DNA methylation alterations are crucial to gene regulation in mammals. Recently, a number of microarray studies have been based on copy number and DNA methylation alterations in order to find clinical biomarkers of carcinogenesis. In this study, we attempted to combine profiles of copy number and methylation patterns in four human cancer cell lines using BAC microarray-based approaches and we detected several clinically important genes which showed genetic and epigenetic relationships. Within the clones analyzed, many contained cancer-related genes involved in cell cycle regulation, cell division, signal transduction, tumor necrosis, cell differentiation, and cell proliferation. One clone included the FHIT gene, a well-known tumor suppressor gene involved in various human cancers. Our combined profiling techniques may provide a method by which to find new clinicopathologic cancer biomarkers, and support the idea that systematic characterization of the genetic and epigenetic events in cancers may rapidly become a reality.