Wun-Jae Kim¹ and Yong-June Kim²

¹Department of Urology, Chungbuk National University, College of Medicine and Institute for Tumor Research, 62 Kaeshin-dong, Heungduk-gu, Cheongju 361-763 South Korea. ²Department of Urology, Chungbuk National University College of Medicine, Cheongju, South Korea.

Abstract: Many tumor markers for bladder cancer have been evaluated for use in detecting and monitoring bladder cancers tissue specimens, bladder washes, and urine specimens. However, none of the biomarkers reported to date has shown sufficient sensitivity and specificity to detect the entire spectrum of bladder cancers in routine clinical practice. The limited value of the established prognostic markers demands analysis of new molecular parameters having the potential to predict the prognosis of bladder cancer patients, particularly, the high-risk patients at risk of cancer progression and recurrence. Abnormal methylation of CpG islands can efficiently repress transcription of the associated gene in a manner akin to mutations and deletions. Several tumor suppressor genes correlated with bladder cancer contain CpG islands in their promoters. Markers for aberrant methylation may be a potential gateway for monitoring bladder cancer. Hypermethylation of several gene promoters was detected in urine sediment DNA from bladder cancer patients. Detection of DNA methylation in voided urine is feasible and noninvasive. Methylation is an important molecular mechanism in the development of bladder cancer and could be used as a prognostic and diagnostic marker. Aberrant patterns of epigenetic modification could, in the near future, be crucial indicators in cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and may additionally be good targets for developing novel therapies while maintaining quality of life.