Figure 3.

DNA methylation profiles in precancerous conditions and clear cell renal cell carcinomas (RCCs). A. Genome-wide DNA methylation profiles in the non-cancerous renal tissue were significantly correlated with clinicopathological parameters of clear cell RCCs developing in individual patients, and also outcome, indicating that DNA methylation alterations at the precancerous stage may generate more malignant cancers and even determine outcome (ref. 46). B. DNA methylation profiles in the non-cancerous renal tissue (Clusters A_NM and B_NM,see text) were basically inherited by the corresponding clear cell RCCs developing in individual patients as the DNA methylation profiles of Clusters A_TM and B_TM, respectively (ref. 46). C. In Cluster B_TM, the number of clones showing copy number alterations by array-CGH was significantly correlated with that of DNA hypo- and hypermethylation by BAMCA in the same patient, whereas no such significant correlations were observed in Cluster A_TM, suggesting that particular DNA methylation profiles may be closely related to chromosomal instability (unpublished data).