Of the thirteen significant loci, OPCML, CDX2, HOXA1, CDKN2A EX2, SFRP1, CDH13, TWIST1 and RASSF1 show considerable promise as cancer-specific DNA methylation markers, exhibiting highly significant hypermethylation in tumors compared to paired non-tumor tissues (p ≤ 1 × 10-7, Table 2). The gene discussed is OPCML; the disease is cancer.