DNA hypomethylation can prevent intestinal tumorigenesis, presumably by reducing epigenetic silencing of tumor-suppressor genes. A study in this issue by Sheaffer and colleagues challenges this notion by showing that severe DNA hypomethylation by tissue-specific Dnmt1 knockout can actually promote intestinal adenoma formation. Cancer Prev Res; 9(7); 509-11. ©2016 AACRSee related article by Sheaffer, et al., p. 534.
©2016 American Association for Cancer Research.