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Aberrant hypermethylation of RASSF1A promoter in ovarian borderline tumors and carcinomas

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Abstract

The newly identified 3p21.3 tumor suppressor gene RASSF1A is inactivated by hypermethylation in variable solid tumors, including those of the lung, breast, prostate, kidney, and ovary. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the methylation status of RASSF1A in various types and stages of ovarian epithelial tumors. We analyzed the DNA methylation status of ovarian tumors using methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction in 54 frozen ovarian tumor tissues and in 97 cases of archival ovarian serous epithelial tumors using a microdissection procedure. Hypermethylation statuses were examined vs clinicopathologic findings. RASSF1A promoter methylation rates in the various types of fresh ovarian tissues were as follows: serous cystadenoma (1/5), serous tumor of borderline malignancy (2/7), serous adenocarcinoma (4/10), mucinous cystadenoma (0/5), mucinous tumor of borderline malignancy (2/7), mucinous adenocarcinoma (3/6), transitional-cell carcinoma (1/3), clear-cell carcinoma (3/3), and malignant müllerian mixed tumor (3/3). In archived serous tumor tissues, RASSF1A promoter hypermethylation was detected in serous cystadenoma (1/6, 16.6%), serous tumor of borderline malignancy (20/41, 48.8%), and in serous adenocarcinoma (25/50, 50%). The status of RASSF1A hypermethylation in borderline tumors was found to correlate statistically with the presence of microinvasion (p=0.002), peritoneal implant (p<0.001), and bilaterality (p=0.019). The RASSF1A promoter hypermethylation was frequently found in borderline tumors and carcinomas, suggesting that RASSF1A promoter hypermethylation may be a useful molecular marker for the early detection of ovarian tumors.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by Samsung Biomedical Research Institute grant no. SBRI CA32161.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

    Yoon-La Choi, So Young Kang, Jong Sun Choi & Geunghwan Ahn

  2. Department of Pharmacy, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea

    Young Kee Shin

  3. Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Chungbuk, South Korea

    Seok Hyung Kim

  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

    Sun-Joo Lee & Duk-Soo Bae

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  1. Yoon-La Choi
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  2. So Young Kang
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  3. Jong Sun Choi
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  4. Young Kee Shin
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  5. Seok Hyung Kim
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  8. Geunghwan Ahn
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Correspondence to Geunghwan Ahn.

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Choi, YL., Kang, S.Y., Choi, J.S. et al. Aberrant hypermethylation of RASSF1A promoter in ovarian borderline tumors and carcinomas. Virchows Arch 448, 331–336 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-005-0091-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-005-0091-3

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