Until now, the biological explanation for this remarkably high frequency of MLH1 methylation in CeD‐SBA has not been known, and this new finding of aberrant CpG island methylation co‐existing with loss of LINE‐1 methylation in a fraction of CeD‐SBAs may provide important insight into the epigenetic mechanisms involved in the tumour initiation of these and other cancers associated with inflammation. This evidence concerns the gene MLH1 and cancer.