Aberrant methylation of PCDH8 is a potential prognostic biomarker for patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Project (KC14SH015) Background: PCDH8 is a tumor suppressor that regulates cell adhesin, proliferation, and migration. It is often inactivated by aberrant promoter methylation in several human cancers, including clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC). The clinical significance of PCDH8 methylation in CCRCC remains unclear. The aim of this study was to inves-tigate the relationship between PCDH8 methylation and clinicopathological characteristics as well as outcome of patients with CCRCC. Material/Methods: The methylation status of PCDH8 in 153 CCRCC tissues and 97 paired adjacent normal renal tissues were ex-amined using methylation-specific PCR (MSP). Then the relationships between PCDH8 methylation and clini-copathological features as well as progression-free survival of CCRCC patients were evaluated. Results: PCDH8 methylation was significantly more frequent in CCRCC tissues compared with normal renal tissues. Moreover, PCDH8 methylation was significantly correlated with advanced clinical stage (P=0.0141), higher grade (P=0.0190), and lymph node metastasis (P=0.0098). In addition, multivariate analysis showed that PCDH8 meth-ylation was independently associated with poor progression-free survival (P=0.0316). Conclusions: PCDH8 methylation is a frequent event in CCRCC and is correlated with unfavorable clinicopathological fea