ZAR1 is a novel epigenetically inactivated tumour suppressor in lung cancer.

Our study shows for the first time the lung tumour-specific epigenetic inactivation of ZAR1 due to DNA methylation of its CpG island promoter. Furthermore, ZAR1 was characterised by the ability to block tumour growth through the inhibition of cell cycle progression in cancer cell lines. We propose that ZAR1 could serve as an epigenetically inactivated biomarker in lung cancer.