The role of epigenetics in breast cancer progression

Abstract

Breast cancers are the most common malignancies and the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. However, classic genetic is not sufficient to explain the diversity of phenotype within breast cancer. During last 2 decades, epigenetics has been intensively studied to investigate the mechanism underlying the progression of cancer and the other disease. DNA methylation and the post-translational modifications that occur on histones can specify transcriptional competency. Here, we present the basic principles behind these epigenetic pathways and highlight the evidence suggesting that their misregulation can culminate in breast cancers. It is now becoming increasingly clear that understanding epigenetic mechanisms allow to investigate the mechanisms underlying the phenotypic plasticity of cancer cells and to develop of new therapeutic strategies.