Eukaryotic cell DNA conserves a distinct genomic methylation pattern, which acts as a molecular switch to control the transcriptional machinery of the cell. However, pathological processes can alter this methylation pattern, leading to the onset of diseases such as cancer. Recent advances in methylation analysis provide a more precise understanding of the consequence of DNA methylation changes towards cancer progression. Consequently, the discoveries of numerous methylation-based biomarkers have inspired the development of simple tests for cancer detection. In this opinion article, we systematically discuss the benefits and challenges associated with the promising methylation-based approaches and develop a point-of-care index to evaluate their potential in terms of point-of-care cancer diagnostics.

真核细胞DNA保留了独特的基因组甲基化模式，可作为控制细胞转录机制的分子开关。但是，病理过程会改变这种甲基化模式，从而导致诸如癌症等疾病的发作。甲基化分析的最新进展提供了对DNA甲基化改变对癌症进展的影响的更精确的理解。因此，众多基于甲基化的生物标记物的发现激发了癌症检测简单测试的发展。在这篇观点文章中，我们系统地讨论了与基于有前景的基于甲基化的方法相关的收益和挑战，并开发了即时诊断指数，以评估其在即时诊断癌症方面的潜力。