Methylome sequencing in triple-negative breast cancer reveals distinct methylation clusters with prognostic value

Stirzaker, Clare; Zotenko, Elena; Song, Jenny Z; Qu, Wenjia; Nair, Shalima S; Locke, Warwick J; Stone, Andrew; Armstong, Nicola J; Robinson, Mark D; Dobrovic, Alexander; Avery-Kiejda, Kelly A; Peters, Kate M; French, Juliet D; Stein, Sandra; Korbie, Darren J; Trau, Matt; Forbes, John F; Scott, Rodney J; Brown, Melissa A; Francis, Glenn D

doi:10.1038/ncomms6899

Abstract

Epigenetic alterations in the cancer methylome are common in breast cancer and provide novel options for tumour stratification. Here, we perform whole-genome methylation capture sequencing on small amounts of DNA isolated from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue from triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and matched normal samples. We identify differentially methylated regions (DMRs) enriched with promoters associated with transcription factor binding sites and DNA hypersensitive sites. Importantly, we stratify TNBCs into three di