2004 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

Promoter Hypermethylation of Tumor-Associated Genes in Head and Neck Cancer

Research Project

Project/Area Number	15591832
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Research Field	Otorhinolaryngology
Research Institution	Tokai University
Principal Investigator	OKAMI Kenji Tokai University, School of Medicine, Associate Professor, 医学部, 助教授 (90223734)
Project Period (FY)	2003 – 2004
Keywords	tumor suppressor gene / head and neck cancer / DNA methylation / 唾液診断
Research Abstract	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-β, RASSF1A, and Fhit genes. Hypermethylation was detected at p16 in 43%, at RAR-β 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 as a screening and follow-up tools.

(2 results)