A total of five out of the six pancreatic cancer cell lines indicated increased methylation levels in the promoter region of the BNIP3 gene that were associated with silencing of BNIP3 expression, whereas Patu8988 cells that exhibited low BNIP3 expression displayed partial methylation (26%) (Figure 7A). This evidence concerns the gene BNIP3 and familial pancreatic carcinoma.