title: DNA methylation and cancer.
abstract: Cancer has been considered a genetic disease with a wide array of well-characterized gene mutations and chromosomal abnormalities. Of late, aberrant epigenetic modifications have been elucidated in cancer, and together with genetic alterations, they have been helpful in understanding the complex traits observed in neoplasia. "Cancer Epigenetics" therefore has contributed substantially towards understanding the complexity and diversity of various cancers. However, the positioning of epigenetic events during cancer progression is still not clear, though there are some reports implicating aberrant epigenetic modifications in very early stages of cancer. Amongst the most studied aberrant epigenetic modifications are the DNA methylation differences at the promoter regions of genes affecting their expression. Hypomethylation mediated increased expression of oncogenes and hypermethylation mediated silencing of tumor suppressor genes are well known examples. This chapter also explores the correlation of DNA methylation and demethylation enzymes with cancer.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Mammalian Genetics, CDFD, Hyderabad, 500001, India.
authors.forename: Gopinathan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gokul
authors.forename: Sanjeev
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khosla
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000187:drug effects; D015254:DNA Modification Methylases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010641:Phenotype
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D015254:DNA Modification Methylases