Association Between MGMT Promoter Methylation and Clinical and Lifestyle Factors in Glioblastoma: A Single-Center Study in Korea
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Histopathological and MGMT Methylation Review
2.2. Definition of Clinical and Lifestyle Variables
2.3. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Study Population
3.2. Univariate Analysis of Factors Associated with MGMT Promoter Methylation
| Variable | MGMT (+) (n = 48) | MGMT (−) (n = 57) | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years (mean) | 41–84 (64.7) | 47–87 (65.2) | 0.8 |
| Sex, n (%) | 0.6 | ||
| Male | 28 (58.3) | 29 (50.9) | |
| Female | 20 (41.7) | 28 (49.1) | |
| Body mass index (BMI) , kg/m2 (median) | 18.8–31.3 (23.6) | 18.8–31.2 (23.6) | 0.8 |
| Weight category, n (%) | 0.3 | ||
| Normal weight | 35 (72.9) | 36 (63.2) | |
| Overweight/Obese | 13 (27.1) | 21 (36.8) | |
| Smoking status, n (%) | 0.04 | ||
| Never or former smoker | 37 (77.1) | 53 (93.0) | |
| Current smoker | 11 (22.9) | 4 (7.0) | |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 0.3 | ||
| Yes | 19 (39.6) | 17 (29.8) | |
| No | 29 (60.4) | 40 (70.2) | |
| Type 2 diabetes, n (%) | 0.5 | ||
| Yes | 4 (8.3) | 8 (14.0) | |
| No | 44 (91.7) | 49 (86.0) | |
| Dyslipidemia, n (%) | 0.6 | ||
| Yes | 5 (10.4) | 9 (15.8) | |
| No | 43 (89.6) | 48 (84.2) |
3.3. Multivariate Analysis of Factors Associated with MGMT Promoter Methylation
| Variable | Odds Ratio | 95% CI | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (per year) | 1 | 0.93–1.03 | 0.4 |
| Female sex | 1.1 | 0.43–2.62 | 0.9 |
| Overweight or obese | 0.6 | 0.23–1.49 | 0.3 |
| Current smoker | 4.6 | 1.21–20.13 | 0.03 |
| Hypertension | 3.6 | 1.15–11.95 | 0.03 |
| Type 2 diabetes mellitus | 0.3 | 0.05–1.42 | 0.1 |
| Dyslipidemia | 0.5 | 0.12–1.92 | 0.3 |
3.4. Association Between Smoking Exposure and MGMT Promoter Methylation
| <20 Pack-Years (n = 8) | ≥20 Pack-Years (n = 25) | OR | 95% CI | p-Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MGMT (+), n (%) | 2 (25.0) | 17 (68.0) | 6.0 | 0.83–73.47 | 0.047 |
| MGMT (–), n (%) | 6 (75.0) | 8 (32.0) |
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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| Methylated pair | Forward | 5′-TTTCGACGTTCGTAGGTTTTCGC-3′ |
| Reverse | 5′-GCACTCTTCCGAAAACGAAACG-3′ | |
| Unmethylated pair | Forward | 5′-TTTGTGTTTTGATGTTTGTAGGTTTTTGT-3′ |
| Reverse | 5′-AACTCCACACTCTTCCAAAAACAAAAA-3′ |
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© 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.
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Kim, M.-S.; Lee, Y.-M.; Son, S.-A.; Kim, D.; Lee, C.; Hwang, J.-H. Association Between MGMT Promoter Methylation and Clinical and Lifestyle Factors in Glioblastoma: A Single-Center Study in Korea. J. Clin. Med. 2026, 15, 1305. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm15031305
Kim M-S, Lee Y-M, Son S-A, Kim D, Lee C, Hwang J-H. Association Between MGMT Promoter Methylation and Clinical and Lifestyle Factors in Glioblastoma: A Single-Center Study in Korea. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2026; 15(3):1305. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm15031305
Chicago/Turabian StyleKim, Mee-Seon, Yu-Mi Lee, Shin-Ah Son, DongJa Kim, Chaejin Lee, and Jeong-Hyun Hwang. 2026. "Association Between MGMT Promoter Methylation and Clinical and Lifestyle Factors in Glioblastoma: A Single-Center Study in Korea" Journal of Clinical Medicine 15, no. 3: 1305. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm15031305
APA StyleKim, M.-S., Lee, Y.-M., Son, S.-A., Kim, D., Lee, C., & Hwang, J.-H. (2026). Association Between MGMT Promoter Methylation and Clinical and Lifestyle Factors in Glioblastoma: A Single-Center Study in Korea. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 15(3), 1305. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm15031305

