Figure 3.

 Correlation between methylation level and cancer risk. Methylation levels of two marker genes (FLNc and HRASLS) were quantified in gastric mucosae of healthy individuals (healthy V), non‐cancerous gastric mucosae of patients with a single gastric cancer (single GC), and non‐cancerous gastric mucosae of patients with multiple gastric cancers (multiple GC) (modified from Nakajima et al. ^{( 47 )}). This showed that accumulation levels of specific genes in non‐cancerous gastric mucosae can correlate with gastric cancer risk. Taken together with the findings in other types of cancers, quantification of methylation levels in normal‐appearing tissues is a promising cancer risk marker that reflects one’s own life history.