ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the methylation patterns of secreted apoptosis-related protein 2 (SARP2) gene extron 1 in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma and its clinical value in diagnosis and prognosis. Methods The samples were collected from 23 patients with pancreatic carcinoma, 6 with chronic pancreatitis and 7 normal controls. The extracted DNA was treated with sodium bisulfite and analyzed by PCR for methylation patterns in the CpG islands of SARP2 gene. Results The incidence of methylation in CpG islands of SARP2 gene was significant higher in pancreatic carcinoma (37.9%) than that in paracaneerous (15.2%), pancreatic (15.2%) and normal (0%) tissues (P<0.05). The methylation in some CpG sites (region 1) had specificity to pancreatic cancer. The methylation of SARP2 gene was not associated with sex, age, tumor size, stage and metastasis. But the hypermethylation of CpG was related with the tumor size and differentiation. Conclusions The distribution of CpG hypermethylation in SARP2 gene extron 1 is not equilibrium. Some CpG hypermethylation has specificity to pancreatic carcinoma, and may be served as potential targets as well as prognosis indexes for pancreatic cancer.