Definition
Epigenetic biomarker refers to the measurement of epigenetic modifications in tissues or peripheral fluids like urine, blood, plasma, serum, and stool samples, as markers of disease detection, progression, and therapy response. In particular, most research into epigenetic biomarkers has focused on assessing epigenetic modifications as markers of diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy response in cancers. However, epigenetic biomarkers have also been used as markers of disease (e.g., Alzheimer, Parkinson, diabetes, obesity), and other uses have included markers of response to environmental exposures and toxicology.
Characteristics
Epigenetic Modifications
Epigenetic changes include DNA methylation, histone modifications, and noncoding RNA which includes microRNAs. Epigenetic changes result in changes in gene expression without alterations to the DNA sequence. DNA methylation is the addition of a methyl group to the 5′ carbon of a cytosine, which occurs predominantly at cytosine...
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Bianco-Miotto, T. (2014). Epigenetic Biomarker. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_7134-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_7134-5
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27841-9
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