Ovarian Cancer Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Ovarian Cancer, including details on symptoms, causes, treatment, information. | ||||||||
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BRCA1 promoter methylation predicts adverse ovarian cancer prognosis.Chiang JW, Karlan BY, Cass L, Baldwin RL Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard., 160W, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA. OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical outcome of ovarian cancer patients whose tumors contain BRCA1 genes silenced by promoter hypermethylation to patients with germline BRCA1 mutations and to patients with wild-type BRCA genes. METHODS: Ovarian cancers from a hospital-based tumor bank were characterized as having a BRCA1 mutation; or a methylated BRCA1, BRCA1 pseudogene or MLH1 promotor; or a wild-type BRCA gene. Survival of patients with methylated BRCA1 promoters (N = 11) was compared to that of patients with wild-type BRCA genes (N = 30) and BRCA1 mutations (N = 22). A methylator phenotype was defined to include tumors with hypermethylation of BRCA1, hMLH1 and/or dBRCA1 pseudogene promoters (N = 23). RESULTS: All cohorts had comparable clinical factors except for age at diagnosis. Median age of methylated BRCA1 and wild-type BRCA patients was older than BRCA1 mutation carriers (60 and 63 versus 48 years; P = 0.04). The median disease-free interval was significantly shorter for patients with a methylated BRCA1 promoter (9.8 months) than for BRCA1 mutation carriers (39.5 months; P = 0.04). Median overall survival was also significantly shorter for patients with a methylated BRCA1 promoter (35.6 months) than BRCA1 mutation carriers (78.6 months; P = 0.02). The combined methylator phenotype cohort had significantly shorter survival (36.1 months) compared to wild-type BRCA patients (63.3 months; P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that methylation of the BRCA1 promoter is associated with poor patient outcome. BRCA1 may be part of a global panel of methylated genes associated with aggressive disease. Published 25 May 2006 in Gynecol Oncol, 101(3): 403-10.
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