Methylation status of nine tumor suppressor genes in multiple myeloma

Aberrant methylation in promoter-associated CpG islands has been recognized as a major mechanism for tumor suppressor gene silencing in several malignancies. We determined the methylation status of nine tumor suppressor genes in 68 newly diagnosed MM patients by methylation-specific PCR. The frequency of promoter hypermethylation for individual genes was: CDH 1, 50%; p16 INK4a , 42.8%; p15 INK4b , 16.2%; SHP 1, 14.7%; ER and BNIP 3, 13.2%; RAR β, 11.8%; DAPK 5.9%; and MGMT 0%. Overall, 79% of patients presented at least one hypermethylated gene. By univariate analysis, hypermethylation of DAPK ( P