or more epigenetic alterations that reduce or silence DNA repair gene expression. For example, in a study of 113 sequential colorectal cancers, only four had a missense mutation in the DNA repair gene MGMT, while the majority had reduced MGMT expression due to methylation of the MGMT promoter region (an epigenetic alteration). MGMT can be epigenetically repressed in a number of ways. When MGMT expression is repressed in cancers, this is often due to methylation of its promoter region. However, expression can also be repressed by di-methylation of lysine 9 of histone 3 or by over-expression of a number of microRNAs including miR-181d, miR-767-3p and miR-603. MGMT (O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase) is an important cancer biomarker because it is involved in the repair of DNA damage and is often silenced or inactivated in cancer cells. The loss of MGMT function leads to a higher rate of mutations, promoting the formation and progression of tumors. The presence or absence of MGMT expression in a cancer sample can indicate a patient's response to alkylating chemotherapy, which is a common treatment for certain types of cancer. Hence, MGMT can be used as a prognostic marker to predict the likelihood of treatment response and to guide the selection of appropriate therapies. A number of point-of-care devices are under development to monitor the methylation status of MGMT. Deficiency in field defects A field defect is an area or "field" of epithelium that has been preconditioned by epigenetic changes and/or mutations so as to predispose it towards development of cancer. A field defect is illustrated in the photo and diagram shown of a colon segment having a colon cancer and four small polyps within the same area as well. As pointed out by Rubin, "The vast majority of studies in cancer research has been done on well-defined tumors in vivo, or on discrete neoplastic foci in vitro. Yet there is evidence that more than 80% of the somatic mutations found in mutator phenotype human colorectal tumors occur before the onset of terminal clonal expansion." Similarly, Vogelstein et al. point out that more than half of somatic mutations identified in tumors occurred in a pre-neoplastic phase (in a field defect), during growth of apparently normal cells. In the Table above, MGMT deficiencies were noted in the field defects (histologically normal tissues) surrounding most of the cancers. If MGMT is epigenetically reduced or silenced, it would not likely confer a