Last update:
   29-Apr-2026
 

Arch Hellen Med, 43(4), July-August 2026, 508-513

ORIGINAL PAPER

The value of DNA methylation biomarkers in the diagnosis
and chemotherapy sensitivity of primary hepatocellular carcinoma

D.X. Zha,1 Q.Q. Ou,2 L. Yang,3 Y.M. Sun1
1Department of Anesthesiology, Third Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai
2Department of Ultrasound Diagnosis and Treatment, Third Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai
3Department of Radiation Center, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China

OBJECTIVE To explore the diagnostic value of DNA methylation biomarkers for primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and their predictive value for chemotherapy sensitivity.

METHOD A total of 54 primary HCC patients were enrolled and divided into a hypomethylation group (n=27) and a hypermethylation group (n=27), and 19 matched adjacent normal samples were collected as a control study. The relationship between the clinicopathological features of HCC patients and DNA methylation was analyzed using the Cox regression model. The relationship between the methylation status of HTATIP2 and UCHL1 and the overall survival of HCC patients was analyzed. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic prediction ability of methylation markers for HCC and their predictive performance for chemotherapy sensitivity.

RESULTS Hypermethylation of HTATIP2 was associated with longer overall survival, while hypermethylation of UCHL1 was associated with shorter overall survival (p<0.05). The ROC curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic prediction ability of methylation markers for HCC, and among them, HTATIP2 showed the highest sensitivity and specificity.

CONCLUSIONS The DNA methylation markers HTATIP2 and UCHL1 are of great value for the early diagnosis of primary HCC and the assessment of chemotherapy sensitivity.

Key words: Chemotherapy sensitivity, Diagnosis and prediction, DNA methylation, Estimated value, HCC.

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