scholarly journals Genome-wide mapping of 5-hydroxymethylcytosines in circulating cell-free DNA as a non-invasive approach for early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma

Gut ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (12) ◽  
pp. 2195-2205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiabin Cai ◽  
Lei Chen ◽  
Zhou Zhang ◽  
Xinyu Zhang ◽  
Xingyu Lu ◽  
...  

ObjectiveThe lack of highly sensitive and specific diagnostic biomarkers is a major contributor to the poor outcomes of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We sought to develop a non-invasive diagnostic approach using circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) for the early detection of HCC.DesignApplying the 5hmC-Seal technique, we obtained genome-wide 5-hydroxymethylcytosines (5hmC) in cfDNA samples from 2554 Chinese subjects: 1204 patients with HCC, 392 patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection (CHB) or liver cirrhosis (LC) and 958 healthy individuals and patients with benign liver lesions. A diagnostic model for early HCC was developed through case-control analyses using the elastic net regularisation for feature selection.ResultsThe 5hmC-Seal data from patients with HCC showed a genome-wide distribution enriched with liver-derived enhancer marks. We developed a 32-gene diagnostic model that accurately distinguished early HCC (stage 0/A) based on the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer staging system from non-HCC (validation set: area under curve (AUC)=88.4%; (95% CI 85.8% to 91.1%)), showing superior performance over α-fetoprotein (AFP). Besides detecting patients with early stage or small tumours (eg, ≤2.0 cm) from non-HCC, the 5hmC model showed high capacity for distinguishing early HCC from high risk subjects with CHB or LC history (validation set: AUC=84.6%; (95% CI 80.6% to 88.7%)), also significantly outperforming AFP. Furthermore, the 5hmC diagnostic model appeared to be independent from potential confounders (eg, smoking/alcohol intake history).ConclusionWe have developed and validated a non-invasive approach with clinical application potential for the early detection of HCC that are still surgically resectable in high risk individuals.

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian C.-H. Chiu ◽  
Chang Chen ◽  
Qiancheng You ◽  
Rudyard Chiu ◽  
Girish Venkataraman ◽  
...  

AbstractThe 5-methylcytosines (5mC) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and follicular lymphoma (FL). However, the role of 5-hydroxymethylcytosines (5hmC) that are generated from 5mC through active demethylation, in lymphomagenesis is unknown. We profiled genome-wide 5hmC in circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from 73 newly diagnosed patients with DLBCL and FL. We identified 294 differentially modified genes between DLBCL and FL. The differential 5hmC in the DLBCL/FL-differentiating genes co-localized with enhancer marks H3K4me1 and H3K27ac. A four-gene panel (CNN2, HMG20B, ACRBP, IZUMO1) robustly represented the overall 5hmC modification pattern that distinguished FL from DLBCL with an area under curve of 88.5% in the testing set. The median 5hmC modification levels in signature genes showed potential for separating patients for risk of all-cause mortality. This study provides evidence that genome-wide 5hmC profiles in cfDNA differ between DLBCL and FL and could be exploited as a non-invasive approach.


Author(s):  
Jiajun Cai ◽  
Chang Zeng ◽  
Wei Hua ◽  
Zengxin Qi ◽  
Yanqun Song ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Gliomas, especially the high-grade glioblastomas (GBM), are highly aggressive tumors in the central nervous system (CNS) with dismal clinical outcomes. Effective biomarkers, which are not currently available, may improve clinical outcomes through early detection. We sought to develop a non-invasive diagnostic approach for gliomas based on 5-hydroxymethylcytosines (5hmC) in circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA). Methods We obtained genome-wide 5hmC profiles using the 5hmC-Seal technique in cfDNA samples from 111 prospectively enrolled patients with gliomas and 111 age-, gender-matched healthy individuals, which were split into a training set and a validation set. Integrated models comprised of 5hmC levels summarized for gene bodies, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), cis-regulatory elements, and repetitive elements were developed using the elastic net regularization under a case-control design. Results The integrated 5hmC-based models differentiated healthy individuals from gliomas (AUC [area under the curve] = 84%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 74-93%), GBM patients (AUC = 84%; 95% CI, 74-94%), WHO II-III glioma patients (AUC = 86%; 95% CI, 76-96%), regardless of IDH1 (encoding isocitrate dehydrogenase) mutation status or other glioma-related pathological features such as TERT, TP53 in the validation set. Furthermore, the 5hmC biomarkers in cfDNA showed the potential as an independent indicator from IDH1 mutation status and worked in synergy with IDH1 mutation to distinguish GBM from WHO II-III gliomas. Exploration of the 5hmC biomarkers for gliomas revealed relevance to glioma biology. Conclusions The 5hmC-Seal in cfDNA offers the promise as a non-invasive approach for effective detection of gliomas in a screening program.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 4600-4600
Author(s):  
Xin-Rong Yang ◽  
Ao Huang ◽  
Yuying Wang ◽  
Jiaxi Peng ◽  
Ruijingfang Jiang ◽  
...  

4600 Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents the second most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide. □-fetoprotein (AFP) is the most common serological test used for screening and diagnosis of HCC. However, it is widely recognized that AFP has lower sensitivity with sub-optimal specificity. Tumor-originated circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) provides new opportunity for non-invasive detection of liver cancer. Methods: HCC-specific differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were identified by whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) in 44 pairs of HCC tissues and adjacent tissues. We then performed methylome profiling on cfDNA from HCC patients and healthy individuals by targeted bisulfite sequencing covering genome-wide CpG islands, shelves, and shores. We employed machine learning approaches to build diagnostic models based on cfDNA regional methylation level to classify the plasma of HCC (n = 140) from that of healthy individuals (n = 84). Further analyses were performed in the validation cohort, including 155 HCC patients, and a control group with 96 healthy individuals, 21 chronic hepatitis B infection (CHB)/liver cirrhosis (LC) patients and 34 patients with benign hepatic lesions (BHL). Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) was used to evaluate diagnostic performance. Results: A random forest classifier achieved an AUC of 0.97 (sensitivity: 92.9%; specificity: 89.4%) with 10-fold cross-validation using a panel of 39 DMR markers. The AUC of the diagnostic panel was 0.93 (sensitivity: 81.3%; specificity: 90.7%) in validation cohort, and it performed equally well in detecting BCLC stage 0+A (AUC = 0.90; sensitivity: 74.7%) and AFP negative (AUC = 0.92; sensitivity: 79.4%) HCC, as well as differentiating HCC from CHB/LC and BHL. Based on these results, we have further developed a small targeted bisulfite sequencing panel covering 127 CpG sites for non-invasive diagnosis of HCC. The panel had similar performance in training and validation cohorts, an AUC of 0.96 (sensitivity: 90.7%, specificity: 88.2%) in the training set, and 0.91 (sensitivity: 80.0%, specificity: 88.7%) in the validation set. Conclusions: Our diagnostic panel with 39 DMR markers showed high sensitivity and specificity in HCC diagnosis as well as surveillance in high-risk populations for developing HCC. More importantly, simple diagnostic model show similar diagnostic performance for early HCC diagnosis, which was easily to transfer to clinical application in the future.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiabin Cai ◽  
Lei Chen ◽  
Zhou Zhang ◽  
Xinyu Zhang ◽  
Xingyu Lu ◽  
...  

AbstractThe lack of highly sensitive and specific diagnostic biomarkers is a major contributor to the poor outcomes of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the second-most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide. We sought to develop a clinically convenient and minimally-invasive approach that can be deployed at scale for the sensitive, specific, and highly reliable diagnosis of HCC, and to evaluate the potential prognostic value of this approach. The study cohort comprised of 2,728 subjects, including HCC patients (n = 1,208), controls (n = 965) (572 healthy individuals and 393 patients with benign lesions), as well as patients with chronic hepatitis B infection (CHB) (n =291), liver cirrhosis (LC) (n = 110), and cholangiocarcinoma (CCC) (n = 154), was recruited from three major liver cancer hospitals in Shanghai, China, from July 2016 to November 2017. Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) were collected from plasma samples from these individuals before surgery or any radical treatment. Applying our 5hmC-Seal technique, the summarized 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) profiles in cfDNA were obtained. Molecular annotation analysis suggested that the profiled 5hmC loci in cfDNA were enriched with liver tissue-derived regulatory markers (e.g., H3K4me1). We showed that a weighted diagnostic score (wd-score) based on 117 genes detected using the summarized 5hmC profiles in cfDNA accurately distinguished HCC patients from controls (AUC = 95.1%; 95% CI, 93.6-96.5%) in the validation set, markedly outperformed α-fetoprotein (AFP) with superior sensitivity. The wd-scores, which not only detected early BCLC stages (e.g., Stage 0: AUC = 96.2%; 95% CI,94.1-98.4%) and small tumors (e.g., < 2 cm: AUC = 95.7%; 95% CI: 93.6-97.7%), also showed high capacity for distinguishing HCC from non-cancer patients with CHB/LC (AUC = 80.2%; 95% CI, 75.8-84.6%). Moreover, the prognostic value of 5hmC markers in cfDNA was evaluated for HCC recurrence, showing that a weighted prognostic score (wp-score) based on 16 marker genes predicted the recurrence risk (HR = 6.67; 95% CI, 2.81-15.82, p < 0.0001) in 555 patients who have been followed up after surgery. In conclusion, we have developed and validated a robust 5hmC-based diagnostic model that can be applied routinely with clinically feasible amount of cfDNA (e.g., from ~2-5 mL of plasma). Applying this new approach in the clinic could significantly improve the clinical outcomes of HCC patients, for example by early detection of those patients with surgically resectable tumors or as a convenient disease surveillance tool for recurrence.


Endoscopy ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 38 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Qasim ◽  
T Tajjudin ◽  
B Zaman ◽  
D Maguire ◽  
J Geoghegan ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 3058-3058
Author(s):  
Jacob Carey ◽  
Bryan Chesnick ◽  
Denise Butler ◽  
Michael Rongione ◽  
Giovanni Parmigiani ◽  
...  

3058 Background: Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is largely nucleosomal in origin with typical fragment lengths of 167 base-pairs reflecting the length of DNA wrapped around-the histone and H1 linker. Given the nucleosomal origin of cfDNA, we have previously used low coverage whole genome sequencing to evaluate DNA fragmentation profiles to sensitively and specifically detect tumor-derived DNA with altered fragment lengths or coverage. Methods: Here we evaluate the use of Bayesian finite mixtures to model the fragment length distribution and demonstrate how the parameters from these models can be useful to distinguish between individuals with and without cancer. We examined the number of cfDNA fragments by size ranging from 100-220bp and approximated the mixture component location, scale, and weight using Markov Chain Monte Carlo. The performance of the method was determined using a ten-fold, ten repeat cross-validation of Gradient Boosted Machine model using 1) our previously described genome-wide fragmentation profile approach, 2) the parameters from the mixture model and 3) a combination of approaches 1) and 2) as features. Results: In this study of 215 cancer patients and 208 cancer-free individuals, we observed cross-validated AUCs of 1) 0.94, 2) 0.95, and 3) 0.97 among the three approaches. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that parsimonious mixture models may improve detection of cancer in conjunction with fragmentation profile analyses across the genome.


2019 ◽  
Vol 101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona S. Togneri ◽  
Mark D. Kilby ◽  
Elizabeth Young ◽  
Samantha Court ◽  
Denise Williams ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for the detection of foetal aneuploidy through analysis of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in maternal blood is offered routinely by many healthcare providers across the developed world. This testing has recently been recommended for evaluative implementation in the UK National Health Service (NHS) foetal anomaly screening pathway as a contingent screen following an increased risk of trisomy 21, 18 or 13. In preparation for delivering a national service, we have implemented cfDNA-based NIPT in our Regional Genetics Laboratory. Here, we describe our validation and verification processes and initial experiences of the technology prior to rollout of a national screening service. Methods Data are presented from more than 1000 patients (215 retrospective and 840 prospective) from ‘high- and low-risk pregnancies’ with outcome data following birth or confirmatory invasive prenatal sampling. NIPT was by the Illumina Verifi® test. Results Our data confirm a high-fidelity service with a failure rate of ~0.24% and a high sensitivity and specificity for the detection of foetal trisomy 13, 18 and 21. Secondly, the data show that a significant proportion of patients continue their pregnancies without prenatal invasive testing or intervention after receiving a high-risk cfDNA-based result. A total of 46.5% of patients referred to date were referred for reasons other than high screen risk. Ten percent (76/840 clinical service referrals) of patients were referred with ultrasonographic finding of a foetal structural anomaly, and data analysis indicates high- and low-risk scan indications for NIPT. Conclusions NIPT can be successfully implemented into NHS regional genetics laboratories to provide high-quality services. NHS provision of NIPT in patients with high-risk screen results will allow for a reduction of invasive testing and partially improve equality of access to cfDNA-based NIPT in the pregnant population. Patients at low risk for a classic trisomy or with other clinical indications are likely to continue to access cfDNA-based NIPT as a private test.


Gut ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
pp. 1014-1023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhigang Ren ◽  
Ang Li ◽  
Jianwen Jiang ◽  
Lin Zhou ◽  
Zujiang Yu ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo characterise gut microbiome in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and evaluate the potential of microbiome as non-invasive biomarkers for HCC.DesignWe collected 486 faecal samples from East China, Central China and Northwest China prospectively and finally 419 samples completed Miseq sequencing. We characterised gut microbiome, identified microbial markers and constructed HCC classifier in 75 early HCC, 40 cirrhosis and 75 healthy controls. We validated the results in 56 controls, 30 early HCC and 45 advanced HCC. We further verified diagnosis potential in 18 HCC from Xinjiang and 80 HCC from Zhengzhou.ResultsFaecal microbial diversity was increased from cirrhosis to early HCC with cirrhosis. Phylum Actinobacteria was increased in early HCC versus cirrhosis. Correspondingly, 13 genera including Gemmiger and Parabacteroides were enriched in early HCC versus cirrhosis. Butyrate-producing genera were decreased, while genera producing-lipopolysaccharide were increased in early HCC versus controls. The optimal 30 microbial markers were identified through a fivefold cross-validation on a random forest model and achieved an area under the curve of 80.64% between 75 early HCC and 105 non-HCC samples. Notably, gut microbial markers validated strong diagnosis potential for early HCC and even advanced HCC. Importantly, microbial markers successfully achieved a cross-region validation of HCC from Northwest China and Central China.ConclusionsThis study is the first to characterise gut microbiome in patients with HCC and to report the successful diagnosis model establishment and cross-region validation of microbial markers for HCC. Gut microbiota-targeted biomarkers represent potential non-invasive tools for early diagnosis of HCC.


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