Okami Kenji, Sakai Akihiro, Onuki Junichi, Hamano Takahide, Iida Masahiro, Takahashi Masahiro
Department of Otolaryngology, Tokai University School of Medicine, Boseidai Isehara.
Nihon Jibiinkoka Gakkai Kaiho. 2005 Mar;108(3):207-13. doi: 10.3950/jibiinkoka.108.207.
An important pathway of gene transcriptional inactivation is hypermethylation at the CpG islands of promoter regions. Some tumor suppressor genes have been reported to harbor promoter hypermethylation in head and neck cancer. We studied DNA hypermethylation of 4 genes in 42 cases of primary head and neck cancer. We applied methylation specific PCR for p16, RAR-beta, RASSF1A, and Fhit genes. Hypermethylation was detected at p16 in 43%, at RAR-beta in 40%, at RASSF1A in 12%, and at Fhit in none of the cases. Hypermethylation of at least one gene was detected in 26 (62%) of the 42 cases. No significant correlation was seen between methylation status and clinicopathological findings or prognosis. Hypermethylation of several tumor-associated genes plays an important role in tumorigenesis of head and neck cancer. We discuss clinical implications and their application.
基因转录失活的一条重要途径是启动子区域CpG岛的高甲基化。据报道，一些抑癌基因在头颈癌中存在启动子高甲基化。我们研究了42例原发性头颈癌中4个基因的DNA高甲基化情况。我们对p16、RAR-β、RASSF1A和Fhit基因应用了甲基化特异性PCR。在43%的病例中检测到p16高甲基化，40%的病例中检测到RAR-β高甲基化，12%的病例中检测到RASSF1A高甲基化，而在所有病例中均未检测到Fhit高甲基化。在42例病例中的26例（62%）中检测到至少一个基因的高甲基化。甲基化状态与临床病理结果或预后之间未发现显著相关性。多个肿瘤相关基因的高甲基化在头颈癌的肿瘤发生中起重要作用。我们讨论了其临床意义及其应用。
