They found that tumours demonstrating no response to CRT harboured significantly lower rates of TIMP3 methylation compared to those demonstrating some response (1–2 methylation frequency 1–2 % vs 2–3 %, P = 0.015) although the association did not reach statistical significance for comparison of complete responders vs non-responders, and there was wide variation in the data. This evidence concerns the gene TIMP3 and neoplasm.