NDRG4 methylation change, a promising biomarker in colorectal cancer diagnosis

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third common type of cancer with rising prevalence worldwide. Despite the diagnoses and treatments developed over the past four decades, the survival rate of patients has improved somewhat, but still has a 5-year survival rate of less than 50%.  In this study hypermethylation of NDRG4 gene was evaluated as a biomarker in screening of CRC.Method: A total of 70 individuals enrolled in this case-control study (45 CRC patients vs. 25 normal controls) and Methylation-Specific PCR was used to evaluate methylation status of NDRG4 in plasma samples.Result: Mean age in the control group and CRC patients was 58.4±3.4 years and 64.6±4.4 years respectively. Male to female ratio in the control group and CRC patients was 1.5:1 and 1.1:1 respectively. Gastrointestinal disease history was positive in 12% and 33% of patients in the control group and CRC patients respectively. 53.3% of CRC patients showed hypermethylation in NDRG4 gene vs. only 23.3% of controls.Conclusion: The results showed that NDRG4 can be a promising biomarker in screening and diagnosis of CRC as a noninvasive blood-based biomarker.