Before revision:  Changes in DNA methylation patterns reflect environmental risk factors, and are amongst the first pre-disease changes in cancer. Hence, DNA methylation appears highly promising as a basis on which to develop minimally invasive, DNA-based measures of disease risk and prognosis. DNA methylation is a gene-regulatory pattern, and hence provides a means by which to assess genomic regulatory interactions.
After revision:  DNA methylation is a gene-regulatory pattern, and hence provides a means by which to assess genomic regulatory interactions.