An epigenetic marker panel for recurrence risk prediction of low grade papillary urothelial cell carcinoma (LGPUCC) and its potential use for surveillance after transurethral resection using urine

By a candidate gene approach, we analyzed the promoter methylation (PM) of 8 genes (ARF, TIMP3, RAR-β2, NID2, CCNA1, AIM1, CALCA and CCND2) by quantitative methylation specific PCR (QMSP) in the DNA of 17 non-recurrent and 19 recurrent noninvasive low grade papillary urothelial cell carcinoma (LGPUCC) archival tissues. Among the genes tested, by establishing an empiric cutoff value, CCND2, CCNA1, NID2, and CALCA showed higher frequency of methylation in recurrent than in non-recurrent LGPUCC: CCND2 10/19 (53%) vs. 2/17 (12%) (p=0.014); CCNA1 11/19 (58%) vs. 4/17 (23.5%) (p=0.048); NID2 13/19 (68%) vs. 3/17 (18%) (p=0.003) and CALCA 10/19 (53%) vs. 4/17 (23.5%) (p=0.097), respectively. We further analyzed PM of CCND2, CCNA1, and CALCA in urine DNA from UCC patients including LGPUCC and controls. The frequency of CCND2, CCNA1, and CALCA was significantly higher (p<0.0001) in urine of UCC cases [38/148 (26%), 50/73 (68%) and 94/148 (63.5%) respectively] than controls [0/56 (0%), 10/60 (17%) and 16/56 (28.5%), respectively)]. Most importantly we found at least one of the 3 markers were methylated positive in 25 out of 30 (83%) cytology negative LGPUCC cases. We also explored the biological function of CCNA1 in UCC. Prospective confirmatory studies are needed to develop a reliable tool for prediction of recurrence using primary LGPUCC tissues and/or urine.