title: Importance of promoter methylation of GATA4 gene in epithelial ovarian cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological malignancy, with typically late diagnosis. Altered DNA methylation of tumor suppressor gene promoters probably plays a relevant role in ovarian carcinogenesis and frequently occurs as an early event in the development of different types of cancer including ovarian carcinoma. GATA4 methylation has been reported in a variety of human cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate promoter methylation of the GATA4 gene in ovarian cancer by comparison with that in normal ovarian tissue.
  
  
  METHODS
  To search for promoter methylation of the GATA4 gene we used MSP (methylation-specific PCR) to compare the methylation status in 67 tissue samples of ovarian cancer with that in 40 control samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In our study, methylation-specific PCR revealed GATA4 promoter methylation in 21 of 67 specimens with ovarian cancer (31.3%), and in none of the control ovarian tissue samples.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results confirm that methylation in the GATA4 promoter region could play an important role in ovarian carcinogenesis, and show new loci which are highly methylated only in ovarian cancer samples and which are associated predominantly with the endometrioid type of ovarian carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Clinical Biochemistry and Diagnostics, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Kralove, Charles University in Prague and University Hospital Hradec Kralove, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Marcela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chmelarova
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dvorakova
authors.forename: Jiri
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spacek
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Laco
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Palicka
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000077216:Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial; D019175:DNA Methylation; D005260:Female; D050991:GATA4 Transcription Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009375:Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial / Q000235:genetics*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D050991:GATA4 Transcription Factor; C484170:GATA4 protein, human