This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplementary Data Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kim, M. S. Articles by Sidransky, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kim, M. S. Articles by Sidransky, D.

A Promoter Methylation Pattern in the N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor 2B Gene Predicts Poor Prognosis in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Authors' Affiliations: ¹ Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Cancer Research Division, and ² Department of Oncology Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

Requests for reprints: David Sidransky, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Cancer Research Division, Johns Hopkins University, 1550 Orleans Street, CRBII 574, Baltimore, MD 21231. Phone: 410-502-5152; Fax: 410-614-1411; E-mail: dsidrans{at}jhmi.edu.

Purpose: To investigate whether the promoter methylation pattern in N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor 2B (NMDAR2B) is correlated with clinical features of human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), the methylation status of the gene was examined at three different sites (P1, P2, and P3) where two CpG islands reside within 1 kb upstream of the transcription start site.

Experimental Design: Three independent modalities for methylation analysis (bisulfite sequencing, combined bisulfite restriction analysis, and TaqMan methylation-specific PCR) were done to analyze total 67 ESCC tissues that included 43 primary tumors with well-characterized clinicopathologic variables including patient outcome.

Results: Using an optimized cutoff value based on quantitative methylation-specific PCR, we found that patients with higher NMDAR2B methylation ratio in the proximal region (P1) showed a worse 5-year disease-specific survival rate than those without NMDAR2B methylation (P < 0.006). A significant correlation was also seen between NMDAR2B promoter methylation and the presence of vascular permeation (P = 0.03).

Conclusion: NMDAR2B promoter methylation could be a clinically applicable marker in ESCC.