DNA Methylation, Aging, and Cancer Risk: A Mini-Review

Accumulation of somatic mutations and genomic instability are hallmarks of both aging and cancer. Epigenetic alterations occur across cell types and tissues with advancing age. DNA methylation-based estimates of biologic age can predict important age-related outcomes, including risk of frailty and mortality, and most recently have been shown to be associated with risk of developing cancer. In this mini-review, we examine pathways known to exhibit altered methylation in aging tissues, pre-malignant lesions, and tumors and review methodologies of epigenetic clocks that reliably predict cancer risk, including those derived from methylation studies of peripheral blood, as well as those methylation levels from within the tissues at high risk of cancer.

• Publication year

  2022

• Venue

  Frontiers in Bioinformatics

• Publication date

  2022-06-02

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Computer Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.3389/fbinf.2022.847629PMID 36304336PMCID 9580889
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Estimage: a webserver hub for the computation of methylation age

  2021cited by this paper
• The Effects of Lifetime Estrogen Exposure on Breast Epigenetic Age

  2021cited by this paper
• Breast-Specific Molecular Clocks Comprised of ELF5 Expression and Promoter Methylation Identify Individuals Susceptible to Cancer Initiation

  2021cited by this paper
• Aberrant epigenetic and transcriptional events associated with breast cancer risk

  2021cited by this paper
• Estimating breast tissue-specific DNA methylation age using next-generation sequencing data

  2020cited by this paper
• Recalibrating the epigenetic clock: implications for assessing biological age in the human cortex

  2020cited by this paper
• Epigenome-wide association study for lifetime estrogen exposure identifies an epigenetic signature associated with breast cancer risk

  2019cited by this paper
• Human epigenetic ageing is logarithmic with time across the entire lifespan

  2019cited by this paper
• Placental epigenetic clocks: estimating gestational age using placental DNA methylation levels

  2019cited by this paper
• Association of Epigenetic Clock with Consensus Molecular Subtypes and Overall Survival of Colorectal Cancer

  2019cited by this paper
• An epigenetic clock for human skeletal muscle

  2019cited by this paper
• Epigenetic mortality predictors and incidence of breast cancer

  2019cited by this paper
• Epigenetic aging: more than just a clock when it comes to cancer.

  2019cited by this paper
• DNA methylation-based biological age, genome-wide average DNA methylation, and conventional breast cancer risk factors

  2019cited by this paper
• Acceleration in the DNA methylation age in breast cancer tumours from very young women

  2019cited by this paper
• The PedBE clock accurately estimates DNA methylation age in pediatric buccal cells

  2019cited by this paper
• DNA methylation-based estimator of telomere length

  2019cited by this paper
• DNA methylation GrimAge strongly predicts lifespan and healthspan

  2019cited by this paper
• Methylation-based biological age and breast cancer risk.

  2019cited by this paper
• An epigenetic biomarker of aging for lifespan and healthspan

  2018cited by this paper
• Epigenetic clock for skin and blood cells applied to Hutchinson Gilford Progeria Syndrome and ex vivo studies

  2018cited by this paper
• DNA methylation‐based biological aging and cancer risk and survival: Pooled analysis of seven prospective studies

  2018cited by this paper
• Increased epigenetic age in normal breast tissue from luminal breast cancer patients

  2018cited by this paper
• The MiAge Calculator: a DNA methylation-based mitotic age calculator of human tissue types

  2018cited by this paper
• DNA Methylation Patterns Separate Senescence from Transformation Potential and Indicate Cancer Risk.

  2018cited by this paper
• DNA methylation age is elevated in breast tissue of healthy women

  2017cited by this paper
• Multi-tissue DNA methylation age predictor in mouse

  2017cited by this paper
• Normal breast tissue DNA methylation differences at regulatory elements are associated with the cancer risk factor age

  2017cited by this paper
• DNA methylome analysis identifies accelerated epigenetic ageing associated with postmenopausal breast cancer susceptibility.

  2017cited by this paper
• Acceleration of leukocytes’ epigenetic age as an early tumor and sex-specific marker of breast and colorectal cancer

  2017cited by this paper
• Blood Epigenetic Age may Predict Cancer Incidence and Mortality

  2016cited by this paper
• Epigenetic age acceleration predicts cancer, cardiovascular, and all-cause mortality in a German case cohort

  2016cited by this paper
• A Molecular Clock Infers Heterogeneous Tissue Age Among Patients with Barrett’s Esophagus

  2016cited by this paper
• DNA methylation outliers in normal breast tissue identify field defects that are enriched in cancer

  2016cited by this paper
• DNA methylation-based measures of biological age: meta-analysis predicting time to death

  2016cited by this paper
• Correlation of an epigenetic mitotic clock with cancer risk

  2016cited by this paper
• Prediction of gestational age based on genome-wide differentially methylated regions

  2016cited by this paper
• Accelerated placental aging in early onset preeclampsia pregnancies identified by DNA methylation

  2016cited by this paper
• Epigenetic Determinants of Cancer.

  2016cited by this paper
• An epigenetic clock for gestational age at birth based on blood methylation data

  2016cited by this paper
• DNA methylation age of blood predicts future onset of lung cancer in the women's health initiative

  2015cited by this paper
• Acceleration of Age-Associated Methylation Patterns in HIV-1-Infected Adults

  2015cited by this paper
• Obesity accelerates epigenetic aging of human liver

  2014cited by this paper
• Genome-wide methylation profiles reveal quantitative views of human aging rates.

  2013cited by this paper
• The hallmarks of aging.

  2013cited by this paper
• DNA methylation age of human tissues and cell types

  2013influential reference
• The role of DNA damage and repair in aging through the prism of Koch-like criteria.

  2013cited by this paper
• Differential variability improves the identification of cancer risk markers in DNA methylation studies profiling precursor cancer lesions

  2012cited by this paper
• Epigenetic Predictor of Age

  2011cited by this paper
• Hallmarks of cancer: the next generation.

  2011cited by this paper
• Age-dependent DNA methylation of genes that are suppressed in stem cells is a hallmark of cancer.

  2010cited by this paper
• Epigenetics as a unifying principle in the aetiology of complex traits and diseases

  2010cited by this paper
• Aging and cancer cell biology, 2009

  2009cited by this paper
• Quantitative analysis of DNA methylation profiles in lung cancer identifies aberrant DNA methylation of specific genes and its association with gender and cancer risk factors.

  2009cited by this paper
• Epigenetics in cancer.

  2008cited by this paper
• DNA Methylation in Benign Breast Epithelium in Relation to Age and Breast Cancer Risk

  2008cited by this paper
• Control of developmental regulators by Polycomb in human embryonic stem cells.

  2006cited by this paper
• Promoter hypermethylation in benign breast epithelium in relation to predicted breast cancer risk.

  2005cited by this paper
• Cancer-epigenetics comes of age

  1999cited by this paper
• Estrogens, progestogens, normal breast cell proliferation, and breast cancer risk.

  1993cited by this paper
• ‘Hormonal’ risk factors, ‘breast tissue age’ and the age-incidence of breast cancer

  1983cited by this paper

• Caregiving stress and biological aging measured by epigenetic clocks: protocol for a scoping review

  2025cites this paper
• Innate Immune Surveillance and Recognition of Epigenetic Marks

  2025cites this paper
• Aging measures and cancer in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS)

  2025cites this paper
• Epigenetic regulation of bladder cancer in the context of aging

  2025cites this paper
• The influence of cancer on a forensic age estimation tool

  2025cites this paper
• Exercise attenuates the hallmarks of aging: Novel perspectives.

  2025cites this paper
• Association of phenotypic age acceleration with all-cause and cause-specific mortality among U.S. cancer survivors: a retrospective cohort study

  2025cites this paper
• Household Income, Neighborhood Poverty, and Epigenetic Age: Differences Between Men and Women

  2025cites this paper
• Melatonin and Breast Cancer: A Review Article

  2025cites this paper
• Cryogenic mouse tissue homogenization as an alternative to fresh-frozen biopsy use for genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics

  2025cites this paper
• Multi-omics analysis of the biological function of the VEGF family in colon adenocarcinoma

  2024cites this paper
• New insights into methods to measure biological age: a literature review

  2024cites this paper
• Methylation of Selected CpG-Sites of the Gene CSF1 as a Factor in Regulation of Its Expression and a Marker of Human Biological Aging

  2024cites this paper
• GrimAge is elevated in older adults with mild COVID-19 an exploratory analysis

  2024cites this paper
• Signatures of epigenetic, biological and mitotic age acceleration and telomere shortening are associated with arsenic-induced skin lesions

  2024cites this paper
• Traditional Korean diet high in one-carbon nutrients increases global DNA methylation: implication for epigenetic diet

  2024cites this paper
• The Significant Associations between Epigenetic Clocks and Bladder Cancer Risks

  2024cites this paper
• Current evidence supporting associations of DNA methylation measurements with survivorship burdens in cancer survivors: A scoping review

  2024cites this paper
• Older Age as a Worrisome Feature in Patients With Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms: A Long-Term Surveillance Study

  2024cites this paper
• Discrimination of Lung Cancer and Benign Lung Diseases Using BALF Exosome DNA Methylation Profile

  2024cites this paper
• Promoter Hypermethylation of the BRCA1 Gene as a Novel Biomarker for Prostate Cancer

  2024cites this paper
• Tumor Biology Hides Novel Therapeutic Approaches to Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: A Narrative Review

  2024cites this paper
• A 6-Week Program to Strengthen Resiliency Among Women With Metastatic Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial

  2023cites this paper
• Non‐canonical nitric oxide signalling and DNA methylation: Inflammation induced epigenetic alterations and potential drug targets

  2023cites this paper
• Epigenetic and inflammatory markers in older adults with cancer: A Young International Society of Geriatric Oncology narrative review.

  2023cites this paper
• Genomic Instability and Epigenetic Changes during Aging

  2023cites this paper
• Aging measures and cancer: Findings from the Health and Retirement Study

  2023cites this paper
• Biomarkers of aging for the identification and evaluation of longevity interventions.

  2023cites this paper