The study by Szymczak et al. [48] used whole-blood methylation profiles from 267 individuals of European ancestry (including 71 long-lived individuals) and found that methylation at PVRL2 and ERCC1, genes located in the same genomic region (chromosome 19q) as the major longevity gene APOE [49], was associated with regulation of neurophysiological processes and cancer pathways; the authors suggested that this extended genomic region might be under both genetic and epigenetic control and be key to modulate longevity. Here, APOE is linked to cancer.