Publication: Alu methylation in serum from patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Issued Date
2014-01-01
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15137368
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2-s2.0-84921519173
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Mahidol University
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SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention. Vol.15, No.22 (2014), 9797-9800
Suggested Citation
Danai Tiwawech, Ratakorn Srisuttee, Prakasit Rattanatanyong, Charoenchai Puttipanyalears, Nakarin Kitkumthorn, Apiwat Mutirangura Alu methylation in serum from patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention. Vol.15, No.22 (2014), 9797-9800. doi:10.7314/APJCP.2014.15.22.9797 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/33436
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Title
Alu methylation in serum from patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma
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Abstract
Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common cancer in Southern China and Southeast Asia. Alu elements are among the most prevalent repetitive sequences and constitute 11% of the human genome. Although Alu methylation has been evaluated in many types of cancer, few studies have examined the levels of this modification in serum from NPC patients. Objective: To compare the Alu methylation levels and patterns between serum from NPC patients and normal controls. Materials and Methods: Sera from 50 NPC patients and 140 controls were examined. Quantitative combined bisulfite restriction analysis-Alu (qCOBRA-Alu) was applied to measure Alu methylation levels and characterize Alu methylation patterns. Amplified products were classified into four patterns according to the methylation status of 2 CpG sites: hypermethylated (methylation at both loci), partially methylated (methylation of either of the two loci), and hypomethylated (unmethylated at both loci). Results: A comparison of normal control sera with NPC sera revealed that the latter presented a significantly lower methylation level (p = 0.0002) and a significantly higher percentage of hypomethylated loci (p = 0.0002). The sensitivity of the higher percentage of Alu hypomethyted loci for distinguishing NPC patients from normal controls was 96%. Conclusions: Alu elements in the circulating DNA of NPC patients are hypomethylated. Moreover, Alu hypomethylated loci may represent a potential biomarker for NPC screening.