Abstract AS15: DNA promoter hypermethylation of HIST1H2BB as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for ovarian cancer

Abstract

Abstract Background: Until recently, epithelial ovarian cancers were thought to arise from the ovarian surface epithelial cells. However, recent studies suggest that the majority of high grade serous carcinomas (HGSCs) arise from lesions in the fallopian tubes. DNA promoter hypermethylation of certain genes is often an early event in tumorigenesis, and it can be detected in blood and other bodily fluids, making it a feasible biomarker strategy for early detection of tumors. Purpose of study: Therefore, we sought to determine the methylation profile of HGSCs as compared to fallopian tube epithelium. Using the Infinium HumanMethylation 450 Array, that permits to quantitatively assess over 450,000 methylation sites, within and outside of CpG islands and more than 20,000 genes per sample, at single-nucleotide resolution, we have obtained the genome-wide methylation profile of HGSC and fallopian tubal epithelium. We conducted a pilot study by comparing the global methylation in 12 HGSC tissue samples to 15 fallopian tube epithelium samples. In addition, we compared the methylation profile among long-term survivors (more than 5 years) and short-term survivors (2-3 years) of HGSCs. Results: Our results identified the HIST1H2BB promoter as the most differentially methylated region when comparing HGSC with normal fallopian tube samples. Furthermore, we also found that HIST1H2BB is differentially methylated in HGSC patients with long-term survival when compared to patients with short-term survival. Conclusions: Taken together, these results support the potential of HIST1H2BB promoter hypermethylation as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker. Our findings could lead to the development of a biomarker for the diagnosis and/or prognosis of ovarian cancer and could contribute to the current understanding of the mechanisms of progression in ovarian cancer. Citation Format: Blanca L. Valle, Elisabetta Kuhn, David Sidransky, Rafael Guerrero-Preston. DNA promoter hypermethylation of HIST1H2BB as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for ovarian cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 10th Biennial Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium; Sep 8-9, 2014; Seattle, WA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2015;21(16 Suppl):Abstract nr AS15.