BACKGROUND

We recently found that CDH3 was frequently demethylated in advanced colorectal carcinomas. This prompted us to examine the demethylation status of the CDH3 gene in gastric carcinomas.

METHODS

The demethylation status of the CDH3 gene was examined in primary tumors derived from 36 patients with gastric carcinoma using a quantitative methylation-specific PCR (qMSP) and was evaluated the correlation between the demethylation status and the clinicopathological findings.

RESULTS

Demethylation of the CDH3 gene was detected in 25 out of the 36 (69%) primary gastric carcinomas, suggesting that the aberrant demethylation of CDH3 is a frequent event in gastric carcinomas. Demethylation of CDH3 was significantly associated with increasing TNM stage (p=0.0261). Moreover, a trend was shown toward infiltration beyond the serosa being associated with demethylation of CDH3 (p=0.0733).

CONCLUSIONS

CDH3 was frequently demethylated in advanced gastric carcinomas.