ESR1 promoter methylation in squamous cell cervical cancer

Estrogen receptor-alpha is usually expressed in normal cervical tissue, but its presence is decreased or absent in invasive cervical cancer indicating that its expression is lost during development of invasive cervical cancer. The aim of the present study was to investigate ESR1 promoter methylation in cervical cancer and correlate methylation status with clinico-pathological parameters.

Fifty patients treated for cervical cancer were included in the study. Isolation and bisulfite treatment of genomic DNA from cervical cancer tissue was performed by commercially-available kits. Methylated ESR1 promoter sequences were detected by quantitative real-time methylation-specific PCR.

Methylation status did not present differences regarding age at-diagnosis, FIGO stage, grade, BMI and overall survival for all patients, but within the subgroup of non-keratinizing squamous cell cancer methylation status correlated with grading (p=0.047).

Methylation of the ESR1 promoter does not seem to be of any prognostic relevance, but is associated with higher tumor grading of cervical cancer patients.