(UroToday.com) The mortality among men due to bladder cancer is approximately twice as high in Poland as in other European countries. Bladder cancer is a result of multistep accumulation of genetic and epigenetic alterations and exposure to environmental factors. Aberrant methylation of CpG islands has been recognized as a potential early biomarker of carcinogenesis. Additionally, these changes affect tumor stage and grade, which may have an impact on the choice of the right treatment method.
They aimed to investigate the methylation profiles of selected tumor suppressor genes to determine whether aberrant methylation can significantly correlate with tumor stage and/or grade. Tumor DNA was analyzed from carefully selected 44 patients diagnosed with NMIBC and MIBC. Methylation profiles were examined by MS-MLPA technique. The capillary electrophoresis method provided data for calculating the percentage of methylation of particular genes. A value above 15% was considered a positive result.
Among the analyzed genes, the most frequently hypermethylated genes were CDH13, APC and RARβ. RASSF1 methylation showed a significant association with the infiltrating stage. Hypermethylation of CDH13 (AUC = 0,75) and RASSF1 (AUC = 0,67) has been statistically significantly associated with the high-grade histology and both genes are good classifiers for this condition.
This study confirms the association of CpG island methylation of suppressor genes with bladder cancer and suggests its potential role in the assessment of bladder cancer aggressiveness.
Presented by: Michal Pietrusiński, MD, Medical University of Lodz, Poland
Written by: Stephen B. Williams, MD, MBA, MS @SWilliams_MD on Twitter during the International Bladder Cancer Network Annual Meeting, September 28-October 1, 2022, Barcelona, Spain