[Progress of epigenetics and its therapeutic application in hepatocellular carcinoma].
Liver cancer is a severe harmful disease. It is the fifth most frequently diagnosed cancer and second most frequent cause of cancer deaths worldwide. As the most popular histologic subtype of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), primary HCC is a heterogeneous disease whose management requires a multidisciplinary approach combining genetics, genomics and environmental toxicology. Although many molecular targeted therapies such as sorafenib have entered clinical application and proven effective, the cytotoxicity and other negative effects cannot be ignored. There is an urgent need to identify new therapeutic targets and drugs, which can kill HCC cells with high efficiency and specificity. Plenty of evidence suggests that occurrence and development of HCC is closely related with epigenetics. DNA methylation, histone modification, aberrant expression of miRNAs and dysregulated expression of many epigenetic regulatory genes are significantly altered in HCC. Epigenetic therapeutic drugs may reverse abnormal gene expression, thus controlling the occurrence and development of HCC. In this review, we summarize the latest research progresses in epigenetics and its therapeutic application in HCC,and the potential treatments to be used in the future.
Medical College, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China; Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650032, China;
Ling-yun
LY
Sun
Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650032, China.
Xing-yu
XY
Li
Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650032, China.
Zhi-wei
ZW
Sun
D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000235:genetics* / Q000628:therapy; D019175:DNA Methylation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D056572:Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000628:therapy; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000502:physiology; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding / Q000502:physiology
D056572:Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors; D035683:MicroRNAs; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding