Promoter hypermethylation of tumor suppressor genes in serum as potential biomarker for the diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Purpose: Promoter hypermethylation of tumor suppressor genes may serve as a promising biomarker for the diagnosis of cancer. Cell-free circulating DNA (cf-DNA) shares hypermethylation status with primary tumors. This study investigated promoter hypermethylation of five tumor suppressor genes as markers in the detection of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in serum samples. Methods: cf-DNA was extracted from serum collected from 40 NPC patients and 41 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. The promoter hypermethylation status of the five genes (RASSF1, CDKN2A, DLEC1, DAPK1 and UCHL1) was assessed by methylation-specific PCR after sodium bisulfite conversion. Differences in the methylation status of these five genes between NPC patients and healthy subjects were compared. Results: The concentration of cf-DNA in the serum of NPC patients was significantly higher than that in normal controls. The five tumor suppressor genes – RASSF1, CDKN2A, DLEC1, DAPK1 and UCHL1 – were found to be methylated in 17.5%, 22.5%, 25.0%, 51.4% and 64.9% of patients, respectively. The combination of four-gene marker – CDKN2A, DLEC1, DAPK1 and UCHL1 – had the highest sensitivity and specificity in predicting NPC. Conclusion: Screening DNA hypermethylation of tumor suppressor genes in serum was a promising approach for the diagnosis of NPC.