We therefore performed a primary comparison (Fig. 3A–D; Table 2; Additional file 2: Figure S3A-H) between the whole dMutSα group (n = 20, cancers with MSH2 or MSH6 mutations) and the whole dMutLα group (n = 164, mostly cancers with presumptive MLH1 epimutations). Here, MSH2 is linked to cancer.