Aberrant epigenetic patterns in the etiology of gastrointestinal cancers

• Authors: P. Karpinski , M.M. Sasiadek , N. Blin
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

A body of evidence accumulated over the past decade suggests that epigenetic mechanisms play an essential role in maintaining important cellular functions. Changes in epigenetic patterns (mainly DNA hyper- and hypomethylation and, more recently, histone modifications) may contribute to the development of cancer. Aberrant epigenetic events expand thorough tumor progression from the earliest to latest stages, therefore they can serve as convenient markers for detection and prognosis of cancer. The potential reversibility of epigenetic states in the tumor cell is an attractive target for cancer therapy. Much of our current knowledge on epigenetic alternations in cancer comes from studies on gastrointestinal malignancies, mainly on colorectal cancer, which currently serves as a model for epigenetic tumorigenesis. This review summarizes the current knowledge of epigenetic changes in gastrointestinal cancers and how this relates directly to disease progression and prognosis.

Keywords

EN

DNA METHYLATION; EPIGENETICS; GASTROINTESTINAL CANCER

Discipline

• GENETICS: GENETICS

• Publisher: Institute of Plant Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Journal of Applied Genetics
• Year: 2008
• Volume: 49
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 1-10

Contributors

author

P. Karpinski

author

M.M. Sasiadek

author

N. Blin

• Document Type: ARTICLE
• Publication order reference: P. Karpinski, Department of Genetics, Wroclaw Medical University, Marcinkowskiego 1, 50?368 Wroclaw, Poland