Presentation: 1A03

In breast cancer, prognostic and predictive markers are urgently needed in order to individualize therapy concepts and thus avoid over- or undertreatment. Using a DNA methylation microarray, we found that DNA methylation of PITX2 correlates strongly with the risk of recurrence in breast cancer after adjuvant tamoxifen therapy. PITX2 methylation contributed significant information to conventional factors (e.g. grade, age, tumor size). PITX2 methylation was subsequently validated in an independent population (n=236) using the same microarray approach (Cox proportional hazard model, p<0.05). Independent methodological validation (PCR) was also performed. For the first time, DNA methylation was thus validated both clinically and methodologically as a clinically relevant prognostic and predictive marker in breast cancer. Results from a currently ongoing independent multicenter study, including over 800 tamoxifen treated as well as untreated node-negative breast cancer patients will be presented, and the potential of DNA methylation markers for personalized medicine will be discussed.

Close Window X