Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Clin Oncol. Oct 24, 2026; 17(10): 125345
Published online Oct 24, 2026. doi: 10.5306/wjco.125345
Published online Oct 24, 2026. doi: 10.5306/wjco.125345
Plasma methylation markers for early colorectal cancer detection
Ze-Feng Liu, Jin-Hua Jiang, Wen-Jie Huang, Yue Wang, Gao-Wei Fan, Bang-Guo Chen, Zhi-En Lan, Chun-Hui Cui, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, Guangdong Province, China
Lin-Hao Xu, Department of R&D, Guangzhou Biotron Technology Co., Ltd, Guangzhou 510530, Guangdong Province, China
Co-first authors: Ze-Feng Liu and Jin-Hua Jiang.
Co-corresponding authors: Lin-Hao Xu and Chun-Hui Cui.
Author contributions: Liu ZF and Jiang JH participated in manuscript drafting, revision and response to reviewers, and share equal contributions to the acquisition, analysis and interpretation of the research data presented in this article as co-first authors; Liu ZF conceived the research framework, performed statistical analyses of all plasma and tissue data; Jiang JH enrolled clinical subjects, collected paired tissue and plasma specimens, and sorted clinicopathological information; Huang WJ conducted multiplex probe amplification marker screening and multiplex methylation quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction experiments, interpreted raw molecular testing data; Wang Y assisted with cell-free DNA extraction and bisulfite conversion procedures; Fan GW organized Gene Expression Omnibus public methylation data and completed in silico receiver operating characteristic validation; Chen BG sorted the follow-up data of gastrointestinal tumor patients; Lan ZE performed pathological review of all tissue samples; Cui CH acted as the primary corresponding author responsible for all journal communications; Xu LH and Cui CH co-supervised the whole project, made substantial and equal contributions to study conception and design, experimental supervision, data interpretation, manuscript revision, and final approval of the submitted version as co-corresponding authors.
AI contribution statement: ChatGPT-4 was used solely for English-language polishing and proofreading during manuscript revision. No AI tools were applied for study design, data analysis, result interpretation, conclusion development, original manuscript drafting, table-figure organization or reference sorting. All scientific content was independently completed by the authors, who take full responsibility for the originality, integrity and scientific accuracy of this manuscript.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81974069; the Guangdong Province Natural Science Foundation, No. 2022A1515012587; and the Key Clinical Research Project of Southern Medical University, No. LC2019ZD011.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest in publishing the manuscript.
Corresponding author: Chun-Hui Cui, Chief Physician, Professor, Department of Gastro
Received: July 6, 2026
Revised: August 15, 2026
Accepted: October 8, 2026
Published online: October 24, 2026
Processing time: 109 Days and 13.3 Hours
Revised: August 15, 2026
Accepted: October 8, 2026
Published online: October 24, 2026
Processing time: 109 Days and 13.3 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study developed a three-marker plasma DNA methylation panel – comprising IKZF1, ITGA4, and C9orf50 – specifically designed for early detection of colorectal cancer. Leveraging multiplex probe melting assay screening, the panel effectively suppresses confounding methylation signals derived from white blood cells. It demonstrates superior diagnostic performance for colorectal cancer compared to the clinically established SEPT9 methylation blood test, achieving higher sensitivity at matched specificity and exhibiting strong potential as a noninvasive complementary diagnostic tool.