DNA Hypermethylation Patterns Detected in Serum as a Tool for Early Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Abstract
The promoter regions of some genes, in particular tumor suppressor genes, are frequently hypermethylated in cancer, but not normal cells. This methylation is thought to be an early event in carcinogenesis. Through necrosis and apoptosis, tumors release genomic DNA into the systemic circulation. Analysis of this DNA found in the serum/plasma of breast cancer cases, allows for the detection of promoter hypermethylation, with results showing good concordance with paired tumor tissue samples. We proposed to assess the potential of serum DNA hypermethylation markers as a tool for early detection of breast cancer. To date, no study has been conducted using serum collected prior to breast cancer diagnosis. Such a study can only be conducted using the resources of a large cohort with access to blood samples collected prospectively in healthy women, such as the NYU Women's Health Study (NYUWHS).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA517255
Entities
People
- Jennifer Brooks
Organizations
- New York University