Distinct patterns of E-cadherin CpG island methylation in papillary, follicular, hurthle's cell, and poorly differentiated human thyroid carcinoma

Jeremy R. Graff, Victoria E. Greenberg, James G. Herman, William H. Westra, Erwin R. Boghaert, Kenneth B. Ain, Motoyasu Saji, Martha A. Zeiger, Stephen G. Zimmer, Stephen B. Baylin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

133 Scopus citations

Abstract

Expression of the invasion/metastasis suppressor, E-cadherin, is diminished or lost in thyroid carcinomas. Yet, mutational inactivation of E- cadherin is rare. Herein, we show that this loss is associated with hypermethylation of the E-cadherin 5' CpG island in a panel of human thyroid cancer cell lines. This aberrant methylation is evident in 83% of papillary thyroid carcinoma, 11% of follicular thyroid carcinoma, 40% of Hurthle's cell carcinoma, and 21% of poorly differentiated thyroid carcinomas. Contrary to previous reports, the majority of these poorly differentiated thyroid carcinomas express E-cadherin, but often within the cytoplasm rather than at the cell surface. Together, our data indicate that the invasion/metastasis suppressor function of E-cadherin is frequently compromised in human papillary, Hurthle's cell, and poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma by epigenetic and biochemical events.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2063-2066
Number of pages4
JournalCancer Research
Volume58
Issue number10
StatePublished - May 15 1998

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

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