Abstract:
Purpose: Detection of DNA hypermethylation is emerging as a novel molecular biomarker for different malignancies. We intend to define whether a hypermethylation profile of patients with prostate cancer (PCa) predicts biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radical prostatectomy (RP). Material and Methods: Genome-wide methylation analysis was performed using the GoldenGate Methylation Cancer Panel-I (Illumina, Inc.) on 10 normal prostate tissues and 58 tumor samples from patients treated by RP followed for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) failure (>0.4 ng/ml) and disease progression. Patients were classified on the basis of D'Amico criteria according to clinical staging, PSA at diagnosis and Gleason score after pathologist review. Hypermethylation status of 1505 CpGs present in the promoter region of 807 genes was studied. Hierarchical clustering analysis was performed and relationships with outcome were investigated using log-rank analysis and Cox regression model. Results: We found 28 genes significantly hypermethylated in >20% of the tumors analyzed. Four clusters of patients were characterized by their DNA methylation profile, one at higher risk to develop BCR (p = 0.005). Multivariate analysis reve...