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Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics 2013, Vol.1, No.1, 1-2
http://cge.biopublisher.ca
Lanuching Words
Open Access
Cancer research advantaged in genetics and epigenetics progress
Yan Zhang
College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150081, China
Corresponding author email: [email protected]
Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics, 2013, Vol.1, No.1 doi: 10.5376/cge.2013.01.0001
Received: 01 Nov., 2013
Accepted: 01 Nov., 2013
Published: 01 Nov., 2013
Copyright © 2013 Zhang, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article:
Zhang, 2013, Cancer research advantaged in genetics and epigenetics progress, Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics, Vol.1, No.1 1-2
Abstract Cancers now have been regarded as complex diseases caused by the abnormity of genetics or epigenetics and the most
affective disease for the life of human around the world. In the last decade, it is an opportunity to identify more and more novel
biomarkers in genome level along with the outbreak of biological data. For the current biomedical field, biomarker identification is
also an important step for translational medicine. Meanwhile, earlier studies have identified many cancer biomarkers with genetic
alterations. Genomics and epigenomics are playing more and more important roles in the treatment of cancers.
Keywords Cancer; Biomarker; Genetics; Gpigenetics
Earlier studies have identified many cancer
biomarkers with genetic alterations. For example,
BRAF mutations happened in ovarian cancer and were
identified as a candidate biomarker for the promising
prognosis of ovarian cancer (Estep et al., 2007).
However, epigenetic alteration is also one of the many
important factors in cancers. Through the recent
literatures, many epigenetically altered cancer
biomarkers have been recognized. Recently, CpG
island methylation alteration has been associated with
cancer development, which is a common biomarker.
For example, TFPI2 or GATA4 methylation has been
found to be good predictors of colon cancer by
examining patient excrement (Feinberg et al., 2006).
In addition, RASSF1A has been predicted to be an
indicator of poor prognosis in various cancers (Jiang
et al., 2012; Wang et al., 2008). Partner of SLD5 1
(PSF1), a conserved replication factor in evolution,
was demonstrated to correlate with diagnosis of
cancers and was expressed differentially in prostate
cancer. Therefore it was regarded as a biomarker to
diagnose the patients with poor prognosis (Nagahama
et al., 2010). The hypermethylation of PITX2
increased the risk of prostate cancer and could be a
useful biomarker for poor survival (Vinarskaja et al.,
2013). The up-regulation of methylation in Polo-like
kinase (PLK) increased the probability of mutation
and it was associated with oncogenes. The
hypermethylation of P16 gene could increase the risk
With the development of oncology, more accurate
biomarkers are still needed for the early detection of
diseases. The biomarkers not only contribute to the
early prevention, detection and prognosis of diseases,
but also engage in the personalized medicine which
could provide more effective treatment programs
based on the characteristics of patients. In the last
decade, it is an opportunity to identify more and more
novel biomarkers in genome level along with the
outbreak of biological data. For the current biomedical
field, biomarker identification is also an important
step for translational medicine.
Cancers have been regarded as complex diseases
caused by the abnormity of genetics or epigenetics and
the most affective disease for the life of human around
the world. In the past ten years, we have focused on
the researches in molecular level based on the
development of the researches of cause and
pathogenic mechanism for cancers and epigenetics is
one of the most important research fields in our
researches. Many biologists have realized that the
pathogenesis of cancer is not only caused by the
abnormity of genetic elements but also the abnormity
of epigenetic modifications. Therefore, genomics and
epigenomics are both the important research hotspots
of cancer in post-genome time and the crosstalk
between genomics and epigenomics could offer novel
possibilities for cancer therapy.
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Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics 2013, Vol.1, No.1, 1-2
http://ijms.biopublisher.ca
of esophageal cancer and also be a biomarker for the
identification of esophageal cancer (Hardie et al.,
2005). Therefore, molecular biomarkers may be useful
for predicting the disease states of given patients.
Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma:
association with genetic and epigenetic alterations, Cancer
Lett, 217: 221-230
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.canlet.2004.06.025
Jiang Y., Cui L., Chen W.D., Shen S.H., and Ding L.D., 2012,
The prognostic role of RASSF1A promoter methylation in
breast cancer: a meta-analysis of published data, PLoS
One, 7: e36780
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0036780
Nagahama Y., Ueno M., Miyamoto S., Morii E., Minami T.,
Mochizuki N., Saya H., and Takakura N., 2010, PSF1, a
DNA replication factor expressed widely in stem and
progenitor cells, drives tumorigenic and metastatic
properties, Cancer Res, 70: 1215-1224
http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-09-3662
Vinarskaja A., Schulz W.A., Ingenwerth M., Hader C., and
Arsov C., 2013, Association of PITX2 mRNA
down-regulation in prostate cancer with promoter
hypermethylation and poor prognosis, Urol Oncol, 31:
622-627
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.urolonc.2011.04.010
Wang S.H., Liu N.H., Wang J., Bai H., and Mao L., 2008,
Critical role of deltaDNMT3B4/2 in regulating RASSF1A
promoter-specific DNA methylation in non-small cell lung
cancer, Chin Med J (Engl), 121: 1712-1721
In conclusion, genomics and epigenomics have
important roles in the treatment of cancers. From now
on, we will pay more attention to the field of cancer
genomics and epigenomics. The amazing progress in
this field will hopefully uncover the mechanism of
cancers eventually. In addition, the creation of new
methods for the prevention and treatment of cancers
will aid discovering the potential cancer targets.
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