Epigenomics in waldenström macroglobulinemia

Abstract

In this issue of Blood, Roos-Weil et al1 identified 2 distinct DNA methylation subtypes for Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) by performing methylation screens in 35 well-characterized patients using genome-wide BeadChip technology. In 24 patients, the data were supplemented by transcriptome and targeted DNA sequencing permitting a detailed, multi-omic characterization of WM. Although individual epigenetic events have been previously characterized, this is the first genome-wide characterization and represents an important milestone for understanding WM pathogenesis.