An overview of DNA methylation markers for early detection of gastric cancer: current status, challenges, and prospects

Frontiers in Genetics

Genetics

Bing Pei¹  ZhenZhen Wang²  Yanmiao Dai³  Ying Xue⁴  Chao Huang⁴ 

[1] Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Affiliated Suqian First People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suqian, Jiangsu, China;Department of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Xuzhou Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China;Department of Spleen and Stomach Diseases, Kunshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kunshan, China;The Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Gusu School, Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou, China;

关键词: sample types;    analytical methods;    non-invasive;    gastric cancer;    DNA methylation;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fgene.2023.1234645

 received in 2023-06-05, accepted in 2023-07-17,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignancies, with a low 5-year survival rate. However, if diagnosed at an early stage, it can be cured by endoscopic treatment and has a good prognosis. While gastrointestinal X-ray and upper endoscopy are used as national GC screening methods in some GC high-risk countries, such as Japan and Korea, their radiation exposure, invasiveness, and high cost suggest that they are not the optimal tools for early detection of GC in many countries. Therefore, a cost-effective, and highly accurate method for GC early detection is urgently needed in clinical settings. DNA methylation plays a key role in cancer progression and metastasis and has been demonstrated as a promising marker for cancer early detection.Aims and methods: This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current status of DNA methylation markers associated with GC, the assays developed for GC early detection, challenges in methylation marker discovery and application, and the future prospects of utilizing methylation markers for early detection of GC. Through our analysis, we found that the currently reported DNA methylation markers related to GC are mainly in the early discovery stage. Most of them have only been evaluated in tissue samples. The majority of non-invasive assays developed based on blood lack standardized sampling protocols, pre-analytical procedures, and multicenter validation, and they exhibit insufficient sensitivity for early-stage GC detection. Meanwhile, the reported GC DNA methylation markers are generally considered pan-cancer markers.Conclusion: Therefore, future endeavors should focus on identifying additional methylation markers specific to GC and establishing non-invasive diagnostic assays that rely on these markers. These assays should undergo multicenter, large-scale prospective validation in diverse populations.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 Xue, Huang, Pei, Wang and Dai.