Adding Protein EpiScores May Better Predict CRC Survival

Researchers find specific Protein EpiScores can improve accuracy of disease-free and overall survival prediction in colorectal cancer patients.

Published on Feb. 16, 2026

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Researchers have examined how well specific Protein EpiScores, which are derived from DNA methylation profiles, can predict colorectal cancer survival. The study found that adding certain Protein EpiScores to traditional clinical risk factors significantly improved prognostic accuracy for both disease-free and overall survival in colorectal cancer patients.

Why it matters

Protein EpiScores may represent a complementary class of biomarker that can uncover biological processes driving cancer progression, beyond what is captured by directly measuring clinical variables. If validated, these epigenetic biomarkers could eventually complement existing risk tools to help guide treatment decisions and prevent under- or over-treatment of colorectal cancer patients.

The details

The study involved 136 patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer from the prospective ColoCare Study. Researchers recorded 107 Protein EpiScores from pretreatment whole blood samples and monitored disease-free and overall survival over a median follow-up of 7.3 years. They found that the HCII, VEGFA, CCL17, and LGALS3BP Protein EpiScores were independently associated with worse disease-free survival, and the LGALS3BP Protein EpiScore was linked to worse overall survival. Adding these Protein EpiScores to standard clinical risk factors improved prognostic accuracy, with the C-index increasing from 0.64 to 0.70 for disease-free survival and from 0.70 to 0.75 for overall survival.

  • The study followed patients for a median of 7.3 years, with a maximum follow-up of 13.8 years.
  • The study was published on February 16, 2026.

The players

Alicia R. Richards

Lead author of the study and researcher at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.

Jacob K. Kresovich

Senior author of the study and researcher at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.

Moffitt Cancer Center

The research institution where the study was conducted.

ColoCare Study

The prospective study that provided the patient data for this analysis.

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What they’re saying

“The immediate value of our findings is highlighting biological pathways like immune suppression and coagulation as drivers of poor outcomes.”

— Jacob K. Kresovich, Senior author (Medscape Medical News)

“If our findings are validated in other epidemiologic settings, these Protein EpiScores could eventually complement existing risk tools, but we're realistically several years from clinical implementation. We see these current findings more as a research tool that requires validation in larger cohorts before clinical use.”

— Jacob K. Kresovich, Senior author (Medscape Medical News)

What’s next

Researchers plan to validate the Protein EpiScores in larger patient populations to further assess their potential clinical utility in colorectal cancer prognosis.

The takeaway

These findings suggest that epigenetic biomarkers like Protein EpiScores may provide complementary information to traditional clinical risk factors, potentially improving the accuracy of survival prediction for colorectal cancer patients. However, further validation is needed before these biomarkers can be implemented in clinical practice.