The present invention provides a method for detecting a cellular proliferative disorder in a subject. The method includes contacting a nucleic acid-containing specimen from the subject with an agent that provides a determination of the methylation state of at least one gene or associated regulatory region of the gene and identifying aberrant methylation of regions of the gene or regulatory region, wherein aberrant methylation is identified as being different when compared to the same regions of the gene or associated regulatory region in a subject not having said cellular proliferative, thereby detecting a cellular proliferative disorder in the subject.