Plasma-derived cell-free DNA methylomes might not enable detection and discrimination of intracranial tumors

Intracranial tumors are both hard to detect and diagnose, resulting in poor patient outcomes. For that reason, non-invasive methods enabling detection and discrimination of intracranial tumors have significant clinical potential. Recently Nassiri et al. propose plasma-derived cell-free DNA methylomes as such a method. Here I show that the results have been misinterpreted, and for many comparisons, no evidence supporting the conclusions are actually presented. While my analysis highlights the potential of plasma-derived cell-free DNA methylomes, the evidence provided by Nassiri et al. is simply currently insufficient.