Hypermethylation of the cpG island of Ras association domain family 1A (RASSF1A), a putative tumor suppressor gene from the 3p21.3 locus, occurs in a large percentage of human breast cancers.

The human Ras association domain family 1A gene (RASSF1A), recently cloned from the lung tumor suppressor locus 3p21.3, was shown to be hypermethylated in primary lung tumors, and reexpression of RASSF1A suppressed the growth of lung cancer cells (R. Dammann et al., Nat. Genet., 25: 315-319, 2000). In this study, we analyzed the expression and possible alterations of RASSF1A in breast cancer. In five breast cancer cell lines (MCF7, MDAMB157, MDAMB231, T47D, and ZR75-1), the CpG island and promoter of RASSF1A was completely methylated, and transcription was silenced. Treatment with the DNA methylation inhibitor 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine reactivated the expression of RASSF1A. In 28 of 45 (62%) primary mammary carcinomas, the promoter of RASSF1A was highly methylated at its CpG sites. Coincident with methylation, the expression level of RASSF1A was lower in tumors compared with matching normal tissues. No somatic mutations were found in the samples that were unmethylated. The data suggest that hypermethylation of the CpG island promoter of RASSF1A may play an important role in breast cancer pathogenesis.