Primary breast tumor tissues for determination of TRIM9 methylation status were available for 27 of the 56 cancer patients, and TRIM9 methylated ctDNA was detected in 44 % (4/9) of the MBC patients with TRIM9 hypermethylated tumors but in only 6 % (1/18) of the MBC patients with TRIM9 hypomethylated tumors (Table 3). Here, TRIM9 is linked to cancer.