RASSF1A Methylation in Neuroblastoma Patients' Serum
Author Information
Author(s): Misawa A, Tanaka S, Yagyu S, Tsuchiya K, Iehara T, Sugimoto T, Hosoi H
Primary Institution: Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine
Hypothesis
Is RASSF1A hypermethylation in serum DNA a prognostic marker for neuroblastoma patients?
Conclusion
The methylation status of RASSF1A in serum has the potential to be a prognostic predictor of outcome in neuroblastoma patients.
Supporting Evidence
- Hypermethylation of RASSF1A was found in 94% of tumor samples.
- Serum methylation of RASSF1A was observed in 25% of patients.
- Serum RASSF1A methylation was significantly associated with age ≥12 months at diagnosis.
- Patients with serum-methylated RASSF1A had significantly worse overall survival.
- The 5-year survival was over 90% in patients without serum methylation.
- RASSF1A methylation in serum had a hazard ratio of 9.2 compared to unmethylated patients.
- Multivariate analysis showed a hazard ratio of 2.4 for serum RASSF1A methylation.
Takeaway
This study looked at a gene called RASSF1A in the blood of kids with a type of cancer called neuroblastoma to see if it could help predict how well they would do.
Methodology
The study analyzed the methylation status of the RASSF1A gene in matched tumor and serum DNA samples from neuroblastoma patients.
Potential Biases
The study may have biases related to retrospective data collection and the small number of patients in certain subgroups.
Limitations
The study's findings need to be confirmed in larger studies due to the small sample size and potential biases in retrospective data collection.
Participant Demographics
Of the 68 patients, 39.7% were male and 60.3% were female, with 61.8% younger than 12 months at diagnosis.
Statistical Information
P-Value
P<0.001
Confidence Interval
95% CI, 2.8–30.1
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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