Abstract
Despite considerable scientific progress, the burden of cancer in our society remains a major public health problem. Tumorigenesis is recognized as a complex and multistep process that involves the accumulation of successive transformational events with multi-factorial etiology. Nevertheless, such events result in the acquisition of key hallmark characteristics that are shared by all cancer cells. Accumulating evidence indicates that, besides genetic alterations, epigenetic mechanisms (heritable changes in gene expression caused by modifications in chromatin structure without alterations of DNA sequence) are implicated in the acquisition of malignant phenotype. The potential reversibility of epigenetic alterations linked to tumorigenesis offers a promising avenue for therapeutic intervention. This review focuses on the epigenetic regulation of the cancer hallmarks and the foreseeable use of epigenetic drugs to target these features as a promising strategy for anti-cancer therapy. Based on this body of evidence, we believe that epigenetic deregulations can affect virtually all cell functions and therefore therapeutic approaches with epigenetic drugs could allow multi-target approach against the hallmarks of cancer.
Keywords: Anti-cancer therapy, Cancer hallmarks, DNA methyltransferase, Epigenetic modulators, Epigenetics, Histone deacetylase.
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry
Title:Epigenetic alterations as a universal feature of cancer hallmarks and a promising target for personalized treatments
Volume: 16 Issue: 7
Author(s): Michael Schnekenburger, Cristina Florean, Mario Dicato and Marc Diederich
Affiliation:
Keywords: Anti-cancer therapy, Cancer hallmarks, DNA methyltransferase, Epigenetic modulators, Epigenetics, Histone deacetylase.
Abstract: Despite considerable scientific progress, the burden of cancer in our society remains a major public health problem. Tumorigenesis is recognized as a complex and multistep process that involves the accumulation of successive transformational events with multi-factorial etiology. Nevertheless, such events result in the acquisition of key hallmark characteristics that are shared by all cancer cells. Accumulating evidence indicates that, besides genetic alterations, epigenetic mechanisms (heritable changes in gene expression caused by modifications in chromatin structure without alterations of DNA sequence) are implicated in the acquisition of malignant phenotype. The potential reversibility of epigenetic alterations linked to tumorigenesis offers a promising avenue for therapeutic intervention. This review focuses on the epigenetic regulation of the cancer hallmarks and the foreseeable use of epigenetic drugs to target these features as a promising strategy for anti-cancer therapy. Based on this body of evidence, we believe that epigenetic deregulations can affect virtually all cell functions and therefore therapeutic approaches with epigenetic drugs could allow multi-target approach against the hallmarks of cancer.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Schnekenburger Michael, Florean Cristina, Dicato Mario and Diederich Marc, Epigenetic alterations as a universal feature of cancer hallmarks and a promising target for personalized treatments, Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry 2016; 16 (7) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1568026615666150825141330
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1568026615666150825141330 |
Print ISSN 1568-0266 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-4294 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
Chemistry Based on Natural Products for Therapeutic Purposes
The development of new pharmaceuticals for a wide range of medical conditions has long relied on the identification of promising natural products (NPs). There are over sixty percent of cancer, infectious illness, and CNS disease medications that include an NP pharmacophore, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Since NP ...read more
Current Trends in Drug Discovery Based on Artificial Intelligence and Computer-Aided Drug Design
Drug development discovery has faced several challenges over the years. In fact, the evolution of classical approaches to modern methods using computational methods, or Computer-Aided Drug Design (CADD), has shown promising and essential results in any drug discovery campaign. Among these methods, molecular docking is one of the most notable ...read more
Drug Discovery in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
In the age of artificial intelligence (AI), we have witnessed a significant boom in AI techniques for drug discovery. AI techniques are increasingly integrated and accelerating the drug discovery process. These developments have not only attracted the attention of academia and industry but also raised important questions regarding the selection ...read more
From Biodiversity to Chemical Diversity: Focus of Flavonoids
Flavonoids are the largest group of polyphenols, plant secondary metabolites arising from the essential aromatic amino acid phenylalanine (or more rarely from tyrosine) via the phenylpropanoid pathway. The flavan nucleus is the basic 15-carbon skeleton of flavonoids (C6-C3-C6), which consists of two phenyl rings (A and B) and a heterocyclic ...read more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
- Announcements
Related Articles
-
From Blood-to-Brain: Regulating the Permeability of the Blood-Brain Barrier
Current Psychopharmacology Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Busulfan in Transplantation
Current Pharmaceutical Design Synergistic Effect of Epigenetic Inhibitors Decitabine and Suberoylanilide Hydroxamic Acid on Colorectal Cancer In vitro
Current Molecular Pharmacology Evaluation of the in vitro Antitumor Activity of Nanostructured Cyclotides in Polymers of Eudragit® L 100-55 and RS 30 D
Letters in Drug Design & Discovery Chemoprevention Strategies for High Risk Women
Current Women`s Health Reviews Development of Selective Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4 Inhibitors for Antineoplastic Therapies
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry Antitumor Effects of Interferon-Alpha on Cell Growth and Metastasis in Human Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
Current Cancer Drug Targets Homology Modelling of Human E1 Ubiquitin Activating Enzyme
Letters in Drug Design & Discovery Emerging Role of Apelin as a Therapeutic Target in Cancer: A Patent Review
Recent Patents on Anti-Cancer Drug Discovery Gallium-68 in Medical Imaging
Current Radiopharmaceuticals Fragment-Based Drug Discovery and Molecular Docking in Drug Design
Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Meet Our Editorial Board Member
Current Cancer Drug Targets Lafora Progressive Myoclonus Epilepsy: Recent Insights into Cell Degeneration
Recent Patents on Endocrine, Metabolic & Immune Drug Discovery Improving Safety of Gene Therapy
Current Drug Safety Synthesis and Evaluation of Amido-Deoxyestradiol Derivatives as Inhibitors of 17β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 12
Current Enzyme Inhibition Biological Properties of Baicalein in Cardiovascular System
Current Drug Targets - Cardiovascular & Hematological Disorders Gestational Diabetes and the Metabolic Syndrome: Can Obesity and Small, Dense Low Density Lipoproteins be Key Mediators of this Association?
Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Recent Progress in the Development of Anticancer Agents
Current Medicinal Chemistry - Anti-Cancer Agents Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors: The Nutritionally Controlled Molecular Networks that Integrate Inflammation, Immunity and Metabolism
Current Nutrition & Food Science Mevalonate Kinase Deficiency: Disclosing the Role of Mevalonate Pathway Modulation in Inflammation
Current Pharmaceutical Design