3p14.2 allele loss was very frequent in 32 lung cancer cell lines [100% of small cell lung cancer and 88% of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)] and 108 primary NSCLC cancers (45%), with numerous breakpoints indicating involvement of several distinct regions in the FRA3B site.
Abnormalities of FHIT, a candidate tumor suppressor gene at 3p14.2, have been found frequently in multiple tumor types including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
However, the clinicopathological significance of CpG island hypermethylation of FHIT gene in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains to be elucidated.
In subgroup analysis, significant difference of FHIT gene promoter methylation status in NSCLC and controls was found in Asians but not in Caucasian population.
In this study we aimed at correlating loss of Fhit protein expression with a large number of molecular genetic and clinical parameters in a well-characterized cohort of non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs).
Our data suggest that FHIT 5'CpG hypermethylation and splicing alterations are both predominant mechanisms involved in the aberrant expression of the FHIT gene, and that FHIT 5'CpG methylation may be potentially used as a supplemental detection marker for NSCLC.
Our results showed that 7 hypermethylated genes (including CDKN2A, RASSF1, MGMT, RARB, DAPK, WIF1 and FHIT) were significantly associated with the smoking behavior in NSCLC patients.
Our study suggests that tumor-specific methylation of the p16, RASSF1A, H-cadherin, and RARbeta genes may be a valuable biomarker for the early detection of NSCLC in bronchial lavage, and that the age-related methylation of FHIT gene in the normal bronchial epithelium is related to the exposure to tobacco smoke.
Significant differences in FHIT expression between NSCLC histopathological groups (SCC, AC, LCC) were observed (p=0.000009), with the lowest level in SCC.
Subgroup analysis based on ethnicity implied that FHIT hypermethylation level was higher in NSCLC tissues than in normal tissues in both Caucasians (P=0.02) and Asians (P<0.0001), indicating that the difference in Asians was much more significant.
The fragile histidine triad (FHIT) gene, encompassing the FRA3B fragile site at chromosome 3p14.2, is a tumour suppressor gene involved in different tumour types including non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs).
The present study of 67 NSCLCs investigated the allelic imbalance (AIm) within the FHIT locus and its relationship with p53 abnormalities, kinetic parameters [proliferative activity or proliferation index (PI) and apoptotic index (AI)], and ploidy status of the carcinomas.
The present work was the first study designed to investigate the effects of FHIT gene replacement in a human FHIT-negative non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell line (Calu-1) by using a hormone-inducible expression system that allows tight modulation of the transgene expression.
The purpose of this study was to correlate the expression of FHIT protein in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with tumour proliferation as estimated by Ki-67 antigen and with p53, a suppressor gene.
Therefore, we suggest that restoration of the miR-29b expression using the c-Myc inhibitor might be helpful in suppressing tumor aggressiveness mediated by FHIT loss and consequently improving outcomes in NSCLC patients with tumors with low expression of FHIT.
These findings show that combination treatment with synergistic tumor-suppressing gene therapy such as Ad-FHIT and Ad-p53 may be an effective therapeutic strategy for NSCLC and other cancers.
Using single-strand conformational polymorphism and sequencing analyses, no point mutations of the FHIT gene were detected in brain metastases derived from NSCLC.