Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126, Naples, Italy.
Biogem Scarl, Istituto di Ricerche Genetiche "Gaetano Salvatore", 83031, Ariano Irpino, Italy.
Clin Epigenetics. 2019 Sep 6;11(1):132. doi: 10.1186/s13148-019-0728-8.
Chronic pancreatitis presents a high risk of inflammation-related progression to pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The high mortality rate is directly related to the difficulty in promptly diagnosing the disease, which often presents as overt and advanced. Hence, early diagnosis for pancreatic cancer becomes crucial, propelling research into the molecular and epigenetic landscape of the disease.
Recent studies have shown that cell-free DNA methylation profiles from inflammatory diseases or cancer can vary, thus opening a new venue for the development of biomarkers for early diagnosis. In particular, cell-free DNA methylation could be employed in the identification of pre-neoplastic signatures in individuals with suspected pancreatic conditions, representing a specific and non-invasive method of early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. In this review, we describe the molecular determinants of pancreatic cancer and how these are related to chronic pancreatitis. We will then present an overview of differential methylated genes in the two conditions, highlighting their diagnostic or prognostic potential.
Exploiting the relation between abnormally methylated cell-free DNA and pre-neoplastic lesions or chronic pancreatitis may become a game-changing approach for the development of tools for the early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
慢性胰腺炎存在炎症相关进展为胰腺癌的高风险。胰腺癌是全球癌症相关死亡的第四大主要原因。高死亡率直接与及时诊断疾病的困难有关，因为疾病通常表现为明显和晚期。因此，胰腺癌的早期诊断变得至关重要，这推动了对疾病分子和表观遗传景观的研究。
最近的研究表明，来自炎症性疾病或癌症的无细胞 DNA 甲基化谱可能会有所不同，从而为开发早期诊断的生物标志物开辟了新途径。特别是，无细胞 DNA 甲基化可用于鉴定疑似胰腺疾病个体的癌前特征，代表了一种特异性和非侵入性的胰腺癌早期诊断方法。在这篇综述中，我们描述了胰腺癌的分子决定因素以及它们与慢性胰腺炎的关系。然后，我们将概述两种情况下差异甲基化基因，突出其诊断或预后潜力。
利用异常甲基化的无细胞 DNA 与癌前病变或慢性胰腺炎之间的关系，可能成为开发用于胰腺癌早期诊断工具的变革性方法。
