Methylation of TFPI2 gene is frequently detected in advanced well-differentiated colorectal cancer.

Background: Recently, it has been reported that TFPI2 (tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2), a Kunitz-type serine proteinase inhibitor, is frequently methylated in human colorectal cancer using a gene expression array-based strategy. The aim of this study therefore was to examine whether the TFPI2 methylation in surgically removed colorectal cancers was correlated to the clinicopathological features.

Materials And Methods: The methylation status of the TFPI2 gene was examined in primary carcinomas and corresponding normal tissues derived from 50 patients with colorectal cancer using quantitative methylation-specific PCR (qMSP), and the correlation between the methylation status and the clinicopathological findings was evaluated. Results. Methylation of the TFPI2 gene was detected in 31 out of the 50 (62%) primary colon carcinomas, suggesting that the methylation of TFPI2 is frequently observed in colorectal cancer. The clinicopathological data were compared with these results. Significant differences were observed between methylation of TFPI2 and histology (p=0.0053) or lymph node metastasis (p=0.0396). These results indicated that TFPI2 was more frequently methylated in well-differentiated advanced colorectal carcinomas.

Conclusion: TFPI2 may act as a tumour suppressor in colorectal carcinomas and TFPI2 methylation may present a potential risk of malignancy in colorectal cancer.