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The methylator phenotype in microsatellite stable colorectal cancers is characterized by a distinct gene expression profile
Author(s) -
Ferracin M,
Gafà R,
Miotto E,
Veronese A,
Pultrone C,
Sabbioni S,
Lanza G,
Negrini M
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the journal of pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.964
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1096-9896
pISSN - 0022-3417
DOI - 10.1002/path.2318
Subject(s) - microsatellite instability , phenotype , colorectal cancer , biology , cancer research , gene expression , gene , genetics , microsatellite , cancer , allele
The CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) in colorectal tumours can be recognized by an increased frequency of aberrant methylation in a specific set of genomic loci. Because of the strong association of CIMP with high microsatellite instability (MSI‐H), the identification of CIMP+ tumours within microsatellite stable (MSS) colorectal cancers may not be straightforward. To overcome this potential limitation, we have built an improved seven‐locus set of methylation markers that includes CACNA1G, IGF2, RUNX3, HTR6, RIZ1, MINT31, and MAP1B. This new set of CIMP markers revealed a bimodal distribution of methylation frequencies in a group of 95 MSS colorectal cancers, which allowed a clearer separation between CIMP classes. Correlation of MSS CIMP+ tumours with bio‐pathological traits revealed significant associations with location to the proximal colon, mucinous histology, BRAF mutation, and chromosomal stability. A potential trend towards an adverse prognosis of CIMP+ cases was associated with the high frequency of BRAF mutations present within this cohort of tumours. Microarray analysis revealed that CIMP+ tumours are characterized by a unique expression profile, a result that confirms that CIMP+ tumours represent a truly distinct molecular class within MSS colorectal cancers. Copyright © 2008 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.