Promoter hypermethylation of DAP kinase gene linked to invasive lobular subtype.

2003 JAN 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Death-associated protein kinase inactivation is associated with the invasive lobular breast cancer subtype, report pathologists.

"Expression of death-associated protein (DAP) kinase, a proapoptotic serine/threonine protein kinase, is frequently lost in human tumors. In a study of 134 primary breast cancer specimens hypermethylation of the DAP kinase gene was found in 13% of cases.

"A highly significant difference (p<0.001) of DAP kinase inactivation was observed between invasive lobular cancer (n=19) and invasive ductal cancer (n=85; 53% versus 9%, respectively)," reported Lehmann and colleagues, Hannover Medical …