Methylation of Tumor Suppressor Gene TIP30 in Promoter Region for Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis and Prognosis

Objective To investigate the difference of promoter methylation of TIP30 gene between colorectal cancer (CRC) and the normal colorectal samples.To analyze the relationship between TIP30 gene methylation and the clinicopathological features of patients. Methods The difference of methylation status of TIP30 between 50 cases of patients with CRC and the paired normal colorectal samples from 2009 to 2010 in the hospital was detected using methylation-specific PCR. Results There was a significant correlation between hypermethylation of TIP30 and unfavorable variables,including lymph nodes metastasis (P=0.003),CEA levels (P=0.005),and advanced colorectal cancer (P=0.048).There was no obvious difference between colon and rectal tissues in carcinoma samples (P=0.309).Interestingly,hypermethylation of TIP30 was more frequently founded（P=0.005） in the tumors from patients with higher serum level of CEA (>15 ng/ml) than that from the patients with lower serum level of CEA (<15 ng/ml). Conclusion This study showed a significant positive correlation between hypermethylation of TIP30 promoter and nodal metastasis,CEA levels,and advanced CRC.There was no obvious difference between colon and rectal tissues in carcinoma samples.Our research suggested that hypermethylation of TIP30 might be used as a new tumor marker for CRC molecular diagnosis and prognosis.