Epigenome-wide association study reveals CpG sites related to COG of neuroblastoma

Background. Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common extracranial solid tumor in infants and children. Its variable location and complex pathogenesis make NB hard for early diagnosis and risk classification. Methodology. We analyzed the methylation data of 236 samples from patients with NB in Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments (TARGET) database. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was used for comparing overall survival of NB patients in different groups. Epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) was conducted to screen CpGs significantly associated with NB patients’ Children’s Oncology Group (COG). Logistic regression method was used for constructing a model to predict NB patients’ COG. Results. NB patients in low COG showed significantly superior prognosis than those in high COG. A total of seven CpG sites were found closely related to COG. Logistic regression model based on those CpGs showed superior performance in separating NB patients in different COGs. Conclusions. The present study highlights the important role of DNA methylation in NB development, which might provide evidence for treatment decisions for children NB.