CRC with sporadic microsatellite instability (MSI), most of which are due to MLH1 promoter methylation, showed no difference in LINE-1 methylation between normal adjacent and cancer tissues (62.6%±1.1% versus 60.6%±1.7%, P = 0.33), with an average decrease in methylation of only 3.12%±2.3%. Here, MLH1 is linked to cancer.