Septin 9 methylation analysis of lymph node micrometastases for predicting relapse of colorectal cancer

• Published in: Annals of diagnostic pathology 2022-10, Vol.60, p.152021-152021, Article 152021
• Main Authors: Wan, Yu, Liang, Jun-Jie, Luo, Xi-Jun, Zhu, Xian-Jun, He, Jia-Lin, Wang, Sheng-Bo, Zhao, Ying-Ying, Zeng, Di, Zhang, Liang, Tang, Xing-Kui
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Colorectal cancer; Lymph node micrometastasis; Methylation marker; Septin 9; Survival; Tumor recurrence
• ISSN: 1092-9134; 1532-8198
• DOI: 10.1016/j.anndiagpath.2022.152021

Molecular markers for the detection of lymph node micrometastases of malignant tumors have been extensively investigated. However, epigenetic signatures have rarely been reported for identification of metastatic lymph nodes and disease relapse. Septin 9 is the most frequently reported hypermethylated gene in colorectal cancer (CRC). This study aimed to assess the clinical relevance of Septin 9 methylation in regional lymph nodes in recurrence/metastases of CRC. We analyzed Septin 9 methylation of DNA from resected lymph nodes in 75 CRC patients with or without tumor recurrence using quantitative methylation-sensitive PCR (qMS-PCR). Of the 30 histologically negative lymph node CRC patients without recurrence (group 1), methylated Septin 9 was detected in 3 (10 %) cases. The positivity rate of methylated Septin 9 in group 2 containing 30 histologically node-negative CRC patients with recurrence was 30 % (9/30). For group 3, lymphatic invasion as well as tumor recurrence, 11 (73 %) out of 15 subjects had Septin 9 methylation-positive lymph nodes. Moreover, patients in group 3 had a higher level of methylated Septin 9 compared to subjects in group 1 and group 2 (p