In our preliminary study, 31 prostate cancer and 5 benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) tissue samples were analyzed. Genomic DNA was isolated from formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens and subjected to sodium bisulfite modification, followed by real-time, methylation specific PCR. Patients with prostatic cancer were also subdivided according to their Gleason score, PSA, age and TNM Staging. Prostate cancer cell lines (LNCaP, DU145, PC3) and a BPH cell line (BPH-1) were also tested as controls.