Methylation of mitochondrial DNA is not a useful marker for cancer detection.

that genotyping of UGT1A1*28, *6, and *27 by the newly developed Invader assay agreed almost completely with the genotyping results obtained with established methods and that the Invader assay provides rapid detection of polymorphisms. We recommend use of 100 ng/10 L for accurate screening. We previously suggested that determination of the UGT1A1 polymorphisms before irinotecan treatment could be clinically useful and important for predicting and preventing related toxicities (1 ). Our newly developed method for detecting UGT1A1 polymorphisms is feasible and has the potential to be widely used for rapid and accurate screening before irinotecan treatment.