To see whether there is a link between constitutional promoter methylation and gene expression in WBCs, we assessed the mRNA levels of methylated BRCA1- and MGMT-methylated genes in WBC RNA from breast and ovarian cancer patients, as well as that of cancer-free (CF) methylation carriers, and compared them with those of the controls using quantitative real-time PCR. This evidence concerns the gene BRCA1 and ovarian carcinoma.