PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - ATSUSHI SHIRAHATA
AU  - KENJI HIBI
TI  - Serum Vimentin Methylation as a Potential Marker for Colorectal Cancer
DP  - 2014 Aug 01
TA  - Anticancer Research
PG  - 4121--4125
VI  - 34
IP  - 8
4099  - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/34/8/4121.short
4100  - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/34/8/4121.full
SO  - Anticancer Res2014 Aug 01; 34
AB  - Aims: The present study aimed to examine the feasibility of detecting vimentin (VIM) methylation in the serum of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and to determine the effectiveness of a relatively simple, inexpensive, and non-invasive test performed in combination with the conventional carcinoembryonic antigen analysis. Materials and Methods: VIM methylation in the serum DNA of 242 patients with CRC was measured by a quantitative methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction. Results: A significantly higher positive rate was obtained for VIM methylation than for carcinoembryonic antigen or carbohydrate antigen 19-9 in stage 0, I, and II patients. The combination of all three markers yielded similar sensitivity for patients with disease of stage 0: 57.1%, I: 36.1%, II: 45.2%, and III: 55.4%, whereas the sensitivity reached 85.7% for patients with stage IV disease. Conclusion: VIM methylation of serum DNA may be a useful marker for the early detection of CRC.