Clinical significance of Stratifin, ERα and PR promoter methylation in tumor and serum DNA in Indian breast cancer patients

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the concordance of promoter methylation of stratifin, ERα and PR in tumor and circulating DNA in breast cancer patients and their association with clinicopathological parameters and disease prognosis. Design and methods: Methylation specific PCR were carried out to investigate the promoter methylation status of stratifin, ERα and PR in tumor and circulating DNA in 100 breast cancer patients in a prospective study. The effect of promoter methylation on protein expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Results: Significant association was observed between promoter methylation of stratifin in tumors (61%) and paired sera (56%) (r = 0.78; p ≤ 0.001). Loss of stratifin expression was observed in 47% tumors and was associated with poor overall survival (p = 0.05). Significant correlation was observed between methylation status of ERα with PRB (p < 0.0001, OR = 20.8, 95% CI = 7.4-58.0) and stratifin (p = 0.003, OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 0.8-4.4). Conclusion: This study underscores the potential utility of serum DNA methylation of these genes as surrogate for tumor DNA methylation as a promising tool for cancer diagnosis.