According to the NIH, cancer mortality will exceed cardiovascular disease for the first time in history, and one in two men and one in three women in the United States will be diagnosed with some form of cancer.
Cancer is a complex pathology with multiple cellular and molecular changes that trigger its development and progression. Over the past decade, researchers have sought to simplify the problem by providing a common framework for organizing research activities. A major outcome of this process was the definition of 14 hallmarks of cancer, a set of abnormalities common to all tumors.
These hallmarks include the development of metastases, impaired cell proliferation, or inability of transformed cells to die. Although these characteristics were thought to be primarily due to genetic causes (i.e. mutations), genetics now fully understands the changing and evolving nature of human tumors and their ability to rapidly acquire resistance to treatment. cannot be explained. Some other mechanism must be involved, and epigenetic control of genetic information was thought to be a strong candidate.
A paper was published today in the journal Cancer Discovery, the most influential publication of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). It is led by Manel Esterer, Ph.D., ICREA Research Professor and Chair of Genetics at the Josep Carreras Leukemia Institute. The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Barcelona describes the epigenetic properties that define tumors and give them the remarkable ability to adapt and survive hostile microenvironments and prevent cancer cell death.
“After more than 25 years of studying chemical modifications of DNA and its regulatory proteins, we have gained a clearer vision of the epigenetic changes common to most human tumors,” commented Dr. Esther. In this article, a leading expert continues: “Researchers in this field, with my help, are working to analyze epigenetic changes in tumors to improve disease diagnosis, prognosis, and even treatment.” We decided to publish these six characteristics that characterize it. ”
According to the expert team, transformed cells have six epigenetic characteristics: Loss of anti-cancer gene activity due to excessive DNA methylation. Epigenetic reactivation of ancient viral sequences integrated into our genome. Distortion of histone protein modifications that control gene expression. Reconstruction of the three-dimensional structure of the cell nucleus. Epigenetic instability that enables cancer evolution. And finally, there is a “love-hate” relationship with cancer’s genetic alterations, where both types of lesions crosstalk and reinforce each other.
Cancer epigenetics remains a growing field, and although its foundations are strong, it is important to recognize that these rules are not fixed, and disruptions such as single-cell analysis and artificial intelligence Future discoveries using advanced technology will lead to additional rules defining the epigenetic signature of cancer.”
sauce:
Josep Carreras Leukemia Institute
Reference magazines:
Esther M et al. (2024). Epigenetic characteristics of cancer. Discovery of cancer. DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-24-0296.
