Epigenetic silencing of is an independent predictor of poor survival in head and neck cancer.

BACKGROUND

This study examined ( methylation profiles of head and neck cancer (HNSCC) patients at diagnosis and follow-up and evaluated their prognostic significance and value as a biomarker. expression was examined in a panel of cell lines by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The methylation status of the promoter was examined by quantitative methylation-specific PCR.

RESULTS

promoter methylation was associated with transcriptional inhibition and was correlated with disease recurrence in 64.8% of cases, with an odds ratio of 1.914 (95% confidence interval: 1.157-3.164;  = 0.011) by multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis. promoter hypermethylation showed highly discriminatory receiver operator characteristic curve profiles that clearly distinguished HNSCC from adjacent normal mucosal tissue, and was correlated with reduced disease-free survival (DFS) (log-rank test,  = 0.01). Hypermethylation of tumor-related genes was higher among patients with methylation than among those without methylation ( < 0.001). Furthermore, hypermethylation was associated with expression of , , and genes.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that CpG hypermethylation is a likely mechanism of gene inactivation, supporting the hypothesis that the gene may play a role in the tumorigenesis of HNSCC and may serve as an important biomarker.