title: Retinoic acid receptor β2 (RARβ2): nonivasive biomarker for distinguishing malignant versus benign prostate lesions from bodily fluids.
abstract: Alterations in the methylation patterns of promoter CpG islands have been associated with the transcriptional inhibition of genes in many human cancers, including prostate cancer (PCa).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of our study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of aberrant promoter hypermethylation of retinoic acid receptor β2 (RARβ2) gene in serum DNA samples from patients with the diagnosis of PCa and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), as a new epigenetic biomarker in distinguishing between malignant and non-malignant lesions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Aberrant promoter hypermethylation was investigated in genomic DNA isolated from the serum of 91 patients diagnosed with of PCa and 94 with BPH (control subjects). In order to evaluate the methylation status of the RARβ2 gene we used the quantitative methylation-specific PCR (QMSP) method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Promoter hypermethylation of RARβ2 gene was detected in serum samples from 89 of 91 (92.86%) patients with PCa, and in 10 of the 94 (10.7%) patients with BPH.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RARβ2 represents a promising molecular biomarker which may be used in discriminating between malignant and benign prostatic diseases by noninvasive methods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, "Victor Babeş", Timişoara, Romania. raluca.dumache@umft.ro
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dumache
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Puiu
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Minciu
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bardan
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: David
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tudor
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bumbăcilă
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics*; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000379:methods; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D018168:Receptors, Retinoic Acid / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D020728:Transurethral Resection of Prostate / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D018168:Receptors, Retinoic Acid; C540966:retinoic acid receptor, beta2, human