BRAF and colonic neoplasm: In the current project, DNA methylation alterations were also detected in the mutation hot-spot regions of 12 analyzed CRC-associated frequently mutated genes including TP53, APC, KRAS, BRAF, and FBXW7. In accordance with the observation that C - T transitions at CpG sites are the most prevalent mutations in TP53 gene in colon tumors [63], the high mutation rate and methylation changes at mutation hot spot regions of this gene could be detected in our study.