ROC analyses showed that SHOX2 hypermethylation was able to discriminate between CRC vs. controls (AUC = 0.91, 95 % CI = 0.81–1.00, p < 0.001) and adenomas vs. controls (AUC = 0.88, 95 % CI = 0.82–0.94, p < 0.001, Fig. 2c, d). Here, SHOX2 is linked to adenoma.