Promoter Hypermethylation of the Runx3 Gene in Pre-and Post-operative Plasma of Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma and its Clinical Significance

Objective:To detect promoter hypermethylation of the Runx3 gene in pre-and post-operative plasma and matched cancer tissues of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) for evaluating the effectiveness of early diagnosis and therapeutic intervention.Methods:We analyzed the hypermethylation status of Runx3 gene in 81 HCC tissues and matched plasma by methylation-specific PCR(MSP).Results:Promoter methylation rate of Runx3 gene was 43.2 %(35/81)and 39.5 %(32/81), respectively, in cancer tissue and matched plasma, which were significantly coincident(P0.05). As far as the samples from 15 patients with post-operative plasma were concerned, Promoter methylation rate of Runx3 gene was 40 %(6/15)respectively in cancer tissues and preoperative plasma, whereas only 1 of 6 post-operative plasma remained hypermethylated.Conclusion:Detection of hypermethylation change of Runx3 gene promoter region promises a definite value in early diagnosis and therapeutic intervention in HCC.