SMAD3 and colorectal carcinoma: The result of quantitative methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (QMSP) assays in 548 patients with CRC and nine patients with benign tubular adenoma showed that the incidence rate of hypomethylation was 91.4% (501/548) in Taiwanese patients with CRC, and the methylation level of SMAD3 in cancerous tissues was half that in noncancerous paired tissues (Figure 2B).