Background: Germline mono-allelic promoter hypermethylation of the MLH1 or MSH2 gene in families with hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer has recently been reported. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if germline promoter hypermethylation of the tumor suppressor gene CDH1 (E-cadherin) might cause predisposition to gastric cancer.
Methods: We prepared two groups of samples, a group of blood samples from 22 patients with familial gastric cancer or early-onset gastric cancer selected from among 39 patients, and a group of non-cancerous gastric tissue samples from 18 patients with sporadic gastric cancer showing loss of CDH1 expression selected from among 159 patients. We then investigated the allele-specific methylation status of the CDH1 promoter by bisulfite sequencing of multiple clones.
Results: Although there was a difference between the methylation level of the two alleles in some samples, there was no mono-allelic promoter hypermethylation in any of the samples.
Conclusion: These results suggest that germline mono-allelic hypermethylation of the CDH1 promoter is not a major predisposing factor for gastric cancer.