Research progress and applications of epigenetic biomarkers in cancer

Abstract

Epigenetic changes are heritable changes in gene expression without changes in the nucleotide sequence of genes. Epigenetic changes play an important role in the development of cancer and in the process of malignancy metastasis. Previous studies have shown that abnormal epigenetic changes can be used as biomarkers for disease status and disease prediction. The reversibility and controllability of epigenetic modification changes also provide new strategies for early disease prevention and treatment. In addition, corresponding drug development has also reached the clinical stage. In this paper, we will discuss the recent progress and application status of tumor epigenetic biomarkers from three perspectives: DNA methylation, non-coding RNA, and histone modification, in order to provide new opportunities for additional tumor research and applications.

Keywords: DNA methylation; cancer; epigenetics; histone modification; non-coding RNA.

FIGURE 1

The link between epigenetics and cancer. Epigenetic disorders can lead to inactivation of tumor-suppressor genes and activation of proto-oncogenes, which play a crucial role in the initiation, progression, invasion and spread of cancer.

FIGURE 2

Epigenetic drugs for cancer treatment. Histone methyltransferases inhibitors (HMTis) and histone deacetylases inhibitors (HDACis) are the main histone methyltransferases inhibitors. DNMTs, DNA methyltransferases; TETs, ten-eleven translocation enzymes; H3, histone 3; H4, histone 4; K, lysine; ME, methylation; AC, acetylation; DOT1L, DOT1-like histone lysine methyltransferase; EZH2, enhancer of zeste homolog 2.