Abstract 3439: Factors affecting the performance of existing epigenetic clocks to predict chronological age in colorectal tumor and normal tissues
Authors: Benson Christopher L. , Moratalla-Navarro Ferran , Diez-Villanueva Anna , Devall Matthew A. , Moreno Victor , Schmit Stephanie L. , Schumacher Fredrick R. 
Published: March 2024

Epigenetic age (EA) may serve as a risk stratification biomarker for early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC, &lt;50 years old), which has been rising substantially in recent decades. We utilized publicly available data in a descriptive analysis to compare epigenetic clocks in colorectal tissue and to investigate differences between chronological age (CA) and biological age, as measured by EA, in relation to demographic and clinical features. We analyzed DNA methylation (DNAm) array data on 144 participants (96 CRC cases, 48 healthy controls) from the Colonomics Study (CLX; Barcelona, Spain) and 331 CRC cases (51 EOCRC, 316 average-onset (≥50) colorectal cancer (AOCRC)) from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) as well as corresponding demographic and clinical variables. Among CLX participants, the 96 CRC cases provided colon tumor and paired normal mucosa samples, while the 48 controls provided healthy colon mucosa samples. TCGA included primary tumor samples from 331 cases with colon or rectal adenocarcinoma (TCGA-COADREAD). The 2013 Horvath clock estimated EA based on CA, while epiTOC, estimated the relative stem cell division rate from tissue biospecimens. We examined the correlations between CA and EA stratified by case/control status, sample type, sex, and age of onset (TCGA only). Tissue from CLX controls demonstrated a strong, positive correlation (r&gt;0.9) between CA and EA for both the 2013 Horvath and epiTOC clocks. Using the Horvath clock, CA and EA correlations in normal mucosa and tumor tissue samples from CLX varied, with r = 0.74 and r = 0.41, respectively, and were weaker using the epiTOC clock, with r = 0.26 (normal) and r = 0.10 (tumor). When CLX cases were stratified by sex, the CA and EA (Horvath) correlations among female cases were r = 0.80 (normal) and r = -0.12 (tumor), while the correlations for males were stronger at r = 0.58 (normal) and r = 0.31 (tumor). This is in comparison to the epiTOC clock with females showing correlations of r = -0.02 (normal) and r = 0.41 (tumor), while males had r = 0.06 (normal) and r = 0.11 (tumor). In TCGA, correlations for EOCRC were r = -0.20 (Horvath) and r = -0.08 (epiTOC) and for AOCRC were r = 0.29 and 0.20, respectively. By sex, correlations for females with EOCRC for Horvath and epiTOC were r = -0.09 and r = -0.07, respectively, while correlations for males with EOCRC were r = -0.02 and r = -0.08, respectively. For TCGA cases with AOCRC, the correlations between CA and EA were r = 0.35 and r = 0.22 for females, and r = 0.26 and r = 0.20 for males, respectively for Horvath and epiTOC. This study revealed substantial variability in the ability of existing epigenetic clocks to accurately predict chronological age, with tissue type and sex strongly influencing the resulting correlations. Our findings highlight the importance of considering these factors when choosing an epigenetic clock.

Citation Format: Christopher L. Benson, Ferran Moratalla-Navarro, Anna Diez-Villanueva, Matthew A. Devall, Victor Moreno, Stephanie L. Schmit, Fredrick R. Schumacher. Factors affecting the performance of existing epigenetic clocks to predict chronological age in colorectal tumor and normal tissues [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 3439.