Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38410586›Full record

ArticleJournal of thoracic disease2024

Cell-free DNA methylation profile potential in the diagnosis of lung squamous cell carcinoma.

Chengli Du, Jin Cai, Jie Tang, Yunhao Chen, Roberto Díaz-Peña, Yusuke Tomita, Jacek Jassem, Jiangang Zhao, Difang Zheng, Zhengliang Tu

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of thoracic disease, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 39% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 6 institutions in 5 countries.

Chengli DuDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Jin CaiSpecial Clinical Lab, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.
Jie TangDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Yunhao ChenDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Roberto Díaz-PeñaFundación Pública Galega de Medicina Xenómica, SERGAS, Grupo de Medicina Xenómica-USC, Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Yusuke TomitaDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Kumamoto University Hospital, Kumamoto, Japan.
Jacek JassemDepartment of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.
Jiangang ZhaoDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Difang ZhengDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Zhengliang TuDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
First Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University · CNZhejiang University · CNGdańsk Medical University · PLKumamoto University Hospital · JPThe Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University · CNUniversidad Autónoma de Chile · CL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Aberrant methylation plays an essential role in early cancer development. In this study, we investigated methylation patterns in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) and matched non-tumor tissue and plasma samples to evaluate the potential of these patterns in the diagnosis of LUSC. Methods: The study group included 49 patients with stage I-III LUSC. We collected resected tumor tissue, paired peritumoral tissue, distant normal tissue, and corresponding plasma samples. A bespoke lung cancer bisulfite sequencing panel was used to profile the methylation level. Another 48 healthy volunteers provided control plasma samples. Results: Peritumoral and distant normal tissues presented similar methylation signatures, distinct from those in tumor tissue samples. A comparison of methylation profiles led to the identification of 871 tumor-specific differentially methylated blocks, including 847 hypermethylated and 24 hypomethylated blocks (adjusted P value <0.05). All top-ranked blocks were tumor-related. Tissue samples were analyzed for field cancerization to identify progressively aggravating aberrant methylations during tumor initiation and development. The analysis revealed that 221 blocks presented a stepwise increase in methylation levels, while seven blocks presented a stepwise decrease in methylation pattern as the sampling drew nearer to the tumor. The malignant contaminated ratio (MCR) confirmed the presence of distinct methylation patterns between tumor and peritumoral tissue samples. We then constructed a diagnostic panel using a combined diagnostic score of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) that showed high sensitivity and specificity. The healthy controls had a significantly lower combined diagnostic score (cd-score) than LUSC patients. Additionally, based on the methylation profiles, LUSC could be classified into two subgroups, C1 and C2. The methylation profile of the C2 group was not distinct from the healthy controls, which had a significantly lower cd-score than did the C1 group. Conclusions: LUSC-specific methylation patterns could potentially discriminate between peritumoral tissue, distant normal tumor tissue, and tumor tissues. This preliminary study also supported the potential utility of cfDNA methylation analysis in diagnosing LUSC.

Indexed as

cell-free DNA (cfDNA)combined diagnostic score (cd-score)lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC)Methylation patterns

Identifiers

PMID38410586
PMCPMC10894382
OpenAlexW4391364288

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.