Abstract

Introduction: Colorectal Cancer (CRC) is a common type of cancer with a rising prevalence worldwide. Morbidity and mortality of CRC can be reduced by screening programs and early diagnosis. Currently used screening tests include fecal-based methods are non-invasive and inexpensive, however the sensitivity and specificity of these tests are not high enough. Aim: To evaluat hypermethylation of Bone Morphogenic Protein 3 (BMP3) as a biomarker in early diagnosis of CRC. Materials and Methods: A total of 96 individuals were enrolled in the present case-control study (59 CRC patients versus 37 healthy controls) and Methylation-Specific Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was used to evaluate methylation status of the BMP3 gene in plasma samples and colonoscopy tissue biopsies. Results: In plasma samples, 75 of CRC patients showed hypermethylation in the BMP3 gene versus only 30 of the controls. In colonoscopy tissue biopsies, BMP3 showed hypermethylation in 81.6 of CRC patients. Specificity and sensitivity of this gene in CRC diagnosis were found to be 76 and 66 respectively. Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that BMP3 in combination with other genes could be used as a non-invasive and promising biomarker in screening and diagnosis of CRC.