Epigenetic biomarkers in colorectal cancer: premises and prospects

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Epigenetic alterations play an important role in the pathogenesis of the colorectal cancer.This review has focused on the most recent investigations, which has suggested potential epigenetic biomarkers in colorectal cancer.Evidences were achieved by searching online medical databases including Google scholar, Pubmed, Scopus and Science Direct.Extensive studies have indicated that aberrant epigenetic modifications could serve as potential biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis and prediction of colorectal cancer.Advances in aberrant epigenetic modifications can open new avenues for exploration of reliable and robust biomarkers to improve the management of CRC patients.