Abstract

Context: Aberrant hypermethylation of promoter region of tumor suppressor genes could be used as cancer biomarkers. Objective: To test methylation status of ZAR1 and SFRP4 promoter regions as potentials biomarkers for diagnosis of preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions of cervix. Materials and methods: Cytobrush samples were evaluated by Methylation specific PCR (MSP) and quantitative MSP (qMSP). Results: ZAR1 and SFRP4 methylation frequency increased as the grade of lesion increased and the differences between normal and cervical cancer (CC) are statistically significant (p<0.0001). qMSP showed higher ZAR1 and SFRP4 methylation levels in cancer than normal epithelia (p<0.001) and preneoplastics lesions (p<0.01). Discussion: qMSP quantify methylation levels and have high sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion: ZAR1 and SFRP4 qMSP could be used as potential biomarker for CC diagnosis.