A Comparative Study of Methyl-BEAMing and Droplet Digital PCR for MGMT Gene Promoter Hypermethylation Detection

Background: O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase is responsible for the direct repair of O6-methylguanine lesions induced by alkylating agents, including temozolomide. O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase promoter hypermethylation is a well-established biomarker for temozolomide response in glioblastoma patients, also correlated with therapeutic response in colorectal cancer. Objectives: The ARETHUSA clinical trial aims to stratify colorectal cancer patients based on their mismatch repair status. Mismatch repair-deficient patients are eligible for treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (anti-PDL-1), whereas mismatch repair-proficient samples are screened for O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase promoter methylation to identify those suitable for temozolomide treatment. Methods: In this context, a subset of ARETHUSA metastatic colorectal cancer samples was used to compare two different techniques for assessing O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase hypermethylation: Methyl-BEAMing, a highly sensitive digital PCR approach that combines emulsion PCR and flow cytometry, and droplet digital PCR, a more automated procedure that enables the rapid, operator-independent analysis of a large number of samples. Results: Our study clearly demonstrates that the results obtained using Methyl-BEAMing and droplet digital PCR are comparable, with both techniques showing similar accuracy, sensitivity, and reproducibility. Conclusions: Digital droplet PCR proved to be an efficient method for detecting gene promoter methylation. However, the Methyl-BEAMing method has proved more sensitive for detecting low quantities of DNA.