Accurate early-stage colorectal cancer detection through analysis of cell-free circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) methylation patterns.

3606 Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening programs suffer from poor uptake and biomarkers have limited diagnostic accuracy. The measurement of the methylation status of tumor-derived cell-free DNA in plasma may address these challenges. We used a targeted methylation panel, tumor-derived signal deduction and machine learning algorithm to refine a blood test for the detection of early-stage CRC. Methods: This was a prospective,...