By analyzing the expression of DOT1L in several different datasheets, we found that DOT1L expression or DNA copy number in colon carcinoma, rectum adenocarcinoma (READ), and colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) were higher than that of the carcinoma-associated fibroblasts, normal rectum, and colon, respectively (Fig. 2b–d and Additional file 1: Fig. S2 A–C). Here, DOT1L is linked to reading.