The following is a summary of “Methylation status of various gene loci in localized prostate cancer: Novel biomarkers for diagnostics and biochemical recurrence,” published in the July 2023 issue of the Urologic Oncology by Eismann et al.
Patients with localized prostate cancer (PCa) who undergo radical prostatectomy (RP) have variable oncologic outcomes. PCa may utilize hypermethylation of tumor-associated genes as a novel diagnostic instrument and predictive biomarker. Researchers analyzed the methylation status of tumor-related genes in RP-treated patients. Patients who underwent RP between 2004 and 2008 were retrospectively matched based on their post-operative D’Amico risk stratification.
Histological specimens were analyzed using quantitative pyrosequencing to determine the methylation status of 10 gene loci in malignant and adjacent benign tissue. EAU recommendations conducted the follow-up. Cancerous and benign tissue methylation levels were correlated statistically with risk profiles and biochemical recurrence (BCR). There were 71 patients in the cohort: 22 with low risk, 22 with intermediate risk, and 27 with high risk. The mean duration of follow-up was 74 months. For the five gene loci GSTP1, APC, RASSF1, TNFRFS10c, and RUNX3, the methylation status was markedly different between cancerous and adjacent benign tissue (each P<0.001).
In addition, the methylation level of Endoglin2 and APC was significantly higher in high-risk patients than in low-risk patients (P = 0.026; P = 0.032). Hypermethylation of APC in PCa tissue was associated with an increased risk of BCR, as determined by ROC analysis (P = 0.005). Multiple gene loci methylation status has diagnostic and prognostic value in PCa. The hypermethylation of APC, RASSF1, TNFRFS10c, and RUNX3 was identified as novel biomarkers for prostate cancer. In addition, elevated levels of APC and Endoglin2 methylation were associated with high-risk PCa. In addition, hypermethylation of APC was linked to an increased risk of BCR following RP.
Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1078143923001278
