title: Epigenetic targeting therapies to overcome chemotherapy resistance.
abstract: It is now well established that epigenetic aberrations occur early in malignant transformation, raising the possibility of identifying chemopreventive compounds or reliable diagnostic screening using epigenetic biomarkers. Combinatorial therapies effective for the reexpression of tumor suppressors, facilitating resensitization to conventional chemotherapies, hold great promise for the future therapy of cancer. This approach may also perturb cancer stem cells and thus represent an effective means for managing a number of solid tumors. We believe that in the near future, anticancer drug regimens will routinely include epigenetic therapies, possibly in conjunction with inhibitors of "stemness" signal pathways, to effectively reduce the devastating occurrence of cancer chemotherapy resistance.
authors.affiliation: Medical Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Jordan Hall 300, 1001 East Third Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. rbalch@indiana.edu
authors.forename: Curt
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Balch
authors.forename: Kenneth P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Nephew
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000187:drug effects*; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics*; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents