Vimentin methylation as a marker for advanced colorectal carcinoma

Recently, it was shown that the Vimentin gene, usually activated in mesenchymal cells, was highly methylated in colorectal carcinoma. Moreover, Vimentin methylation can be applied for the screening or as a diagnostic tool of colorectal carcinomas in the fecal DNA test.

The methylation status of the Vimentin gene was examined in primary carcinomas and the corresponding normal tissues derived from 48 patients with colorectal cancer using quantitative methylation-specific PCR (qMSP) and the correlation between the methylation status and the clinicopathological findings was evaluated.

Aberrant methylation of the Vimentin gene was detected in 31 out of 48 (65%) primary colorectal carcinomas. This result suggested that the aberrant methylation of the Vimentin gene was frequent in colorectal carcinomas. Subsequently, clinicopathological data were correlated with the methylation score. A significant difference was observed in age and Dukes' stage (p = 0.001 and p = 0.034, respectively). Moreover, a trend was shown toward preferentially developing liver metastasis and peritoneal dissemination in colorectal carcinomas with Vimentin methylation (p = 0.052 and p = 0.080, respectively).

Vimentin was frequently methylated in advanced colorectal carcinoma.