Dr. Manel Esteller and Dr. Verónica Dávalos, researchers at the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute, describe in a new article the impact of epigenetics on cancer treatment and how it has become a crucial tool to improve early detection, predict disease progression and become a target for new treatments.
In the early 1980s, the first changes in DNA related to a chemical change called methylation were discovered, followed by the discovery in the mid-1990s of the first tumor suppressor genes inactivated by these changes in genetic material. The early 2000s saw the first use of these altered marks as a biomarker for cancerous disease, as well as the first uses of drugs once morest them.
Meanwhile, the first chemical changes were detected in proteins called histones, where DNA wraps around them like a string of pearls. All this “decoration” of DNA and its regulatory proteins defines the field of epigenetics.
Now, on an article published in the journal “CA: A cancer journal for clinicians“, Dr. Manel Esteller, Director of the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute (IJC), ICREA Research Professor and Professor of Genetics at the University of Barcelona, and researcher Dr. Verónica Dávalos explain its impact on the management cancer patient clinic.
“Epigenetics has evolved from a purely basic research discipline focused on studying the control of gene expression to a tool for improving early detection, predicting disease course, and becoming a target for new treatments”, – says Dr. Esteller and adds – – “One of the most remarkable aspects of its clinical translation is its use in liquid biopsy, as well as helping to classify tumor types, for example to diagnose correctly types of tumors derived from the brain, skeletal muscle, joints, bones or of unknown origin. But, in addition to this aspect, DNA methylation profiles are approved to determine the effectiveness of the treatment of brain tumors and other tumor pathologies.
Perhaps one of the most attractive aspects for the medical oncologist is the use of epigenetic drugs to treat cancer. There are currently nine drugs once morest various epigenetic marks (DNA methylation and histone methylation and acetylation) approved for clinical use in various types of leukaemias, lymphomas and blood diseases, as well as soft tissue tumors. According to Esteller, “these treatments are generally very well tolerated by patients and in addition to killing the tumor cell, they stop its growth, as if it were a tamed beast”.
Epigenetic drugs are a clinical reality and they are already bringing benefits to patients, but research continues and currently there is a whole new generation of epigenetic drugs in different phases of clinical trials which, alone or combined with immunotherapy , can make a positive difference in many patients.
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Material provided by Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.