A DNA methylation-based test for esophageal cancer detection

Background Esophageal cancer (ECa) is the 7th most incident cancer and the 6th leading cause of cancer-related death. Most patients are diagnosed with locally advanced or metastatic disease, enduring poor survival. Biomarkers enabling early cancer detection may improve patient management, treatment effectiveness, and survival, are urgently needed. In this context, epigenetic-based biomarkers such as DNA methylation are potential candidates. Methods Herein, we sought to identify and validate DNA methylation-based biomarkers for early detection and prediction of response to therapy in ECa patients. Promoter methylation levels were assessed in a series of treatment-naive ECa, post-neoadjuvant treatment ECa, and normal esophagus tissues, using quantitative methylation-specific PCR for COL14A1, GPX3, and ZNF569. Results ZNF569 methylation (ZNF569me) levels significantly differed between ECa and normal samples (p < 0.001). Moreover, COL14A1 methylation (COL14A1me) and GPX3 methylation (GPX3me) levels discriminated adenocarcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas, respectively, from normal samples (p = 0.002 and p = 0.009, respectively). COL14A1me & ZNF569me accurately identified adenocarcinomas (82.29%) whereas GPX3me & ZNF569me identified squamous cell carcinomas with 81.73% accuracy. Furthermore, ZNF569me and GPX3me levels significantly differed between normal and pre-treated ECa. Conclusion The biomarker potential of a specific panel of methylated genes for ECa was confirmed. These might prove useful for early detection and might allow for the identification of minimal residual disease after adjuvant therapy.