Significance of TMS1/ASC methylation in serum of non-small cell lung cancer patients

Abstract

Objective To detect the promoter methylation status of TMS1/ASC gene in serum DNA of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and discuss its clinical significance.Methods Serum DNA was extracted from 62 patients with NSCLC,30 patients with benign pulmonary disease,and 16 health subjects with medical check-up.The methylation status of TMS1/ASC gene was detected by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction and the correlation of methylation profiles with clinical characteristic was statisticaily analyzed.Results Aberrant promoter methylation of TMS1/ASC was detected in 14 of 62 (22.58％) NSCLC patients,but in none of patients with benign pulmonary disease and health subjects wi.th medical check-up (Yates continuity correction x2 =4.12,P ＜ 0.05).The situation of smoking among methylated patients was heavier than those unmethylated (492.73 ± 130.54vs 398.54 ± 118.34,t=2.54,P ＜0.05).The promoter methylation of TMS1/ASC was not correlated with gender,age,histopathology,TNM stage,and differentiation in NSCLC patients (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions The promoter hypermethylation of TMS1/ASC may play an important role in the tumorigenesis and progression and it is hopeful to become a promising novel biomarker for diagnosis in NSCLC. Key words: Non-small cell lung cancer; TMS1/ASC; DNA methylation; Polymerase chain reactions ; Serum