Using a cut-off of 0.1% methylation in wbc DNA, 15 of the 23 genes that showed methylation in at least 50% of cancers and adenomas, and particularly 11 genes methylated in at least 70% of neoplastic samples (BCAT1, COL4A2, DLX5, FGF5, FOXF1, FOXI2, GRASP, IKZF1, IRF4, SDC2 and SOX21) show potential for evaluation as biomarkers for CRC detection in blood. The gene discussed is IRF4; the disease is colorectal carcinoma.