Aberrant DNA methylation occurs early and frequently in tumorigenesis. Identification of DNA methylation biomarkers is a field that provides potential for improving the clinical process of breast cancer diagnosis. We utilized a genome-wide technique, methylated DNA isolation assay (MeDIA), in combination with high-resolution CpG microarray analysis to identify hypermethylated genes in breast cancer. Among differentially methylated genes between tumor and adjacent normal tissues, 3 candidate genes (LHX2, WT1 and OTP) were finally selected through a step-wise filtering process and examined for methylation status in normal tissues, primary tumor, and paired adjacent normal-appearing tissues from 39 breast cancer patients. Based on the calculated cut-off values, all genes showed significantly higher frequencies of aberrant hypermethylation in primary tumors (43.6% for LHX2, 89.7% for WT1 and 100% for OTP, p<0.05) while frequencies were intermediate in paired adjacent normal tissues and absent in normal tissues. On further analysis, the methylation level in primary tumors was not significantly correlated with clinicopathological features. Interestingly, DNA methylation of a novel gene OTP was detected in adjacent normal tissues even 6 cm away from primary tumors, suggesting that OTP methylation may qualify as a biomarker for the early detection of breast cancer. In conclusion, we successfully identified a novel gene OTP frequently methylated in breast cancer by genome-wide screening. Our results suggest that the OTP gene may play a crucial role in breast carcinogenesis, although further clinical validation will be needed to evaluate the potential application of OTP in the early detection of breast cancer.

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