Department of Otolaryngology & Head & Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21231, USA.
Biomark Med. 2010 Aug;4(4):543-70. doi: 10.2217/bmm.10.72.
Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death among gynecological cancers. It is now recognized that in addition to genetic alterations, epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications and nucleosome remodeling, play an important role in the development and progression of ovarian cancer by modulating chromatin structure, and gene and miRNA expression. Furthermore, epigenetic alterations have been recognized as useful tools for the development of novel biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, therapeutic prediction and monitoring of diseases. Moreover, new epigenetic therapies, such as DNA methyltransferase inhibitors and histone deacetylase inhibitors, have been found to be a potential therapeutic option, especially when used in combination with other agents. Here we discuss current developments in ovarian carcinoma epigenome research, the importance of the ovarian carcinoma epigenome for development of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, and the current epigenetic therapies used in ovarian cancer.
卵巢癌是妇科癌症死亡的主要原因。现在人们认识到，除了遗传改变外，表观遗传机制，如 DNA 甲基化、组蛋白修饰和核小体重塑，通过调节染色质结构以及基因和 miRNA 表达，在卵巢癌的发生和发展中发挥重要作用。此外，表观遗传改变已被认为是开发用于疾病诊断、预后、治疗预测和监测的新型生物标志物的有用工具。此外，发现新的表观遗传疗法，如 DNA 甲基转移酶抑制剂和组蛋白去乙酰化酶抑制剂，是一种潜在的治疗选择，尤其是与其他药物联合使用时。本文讨论了卵巢癌表观基因组研究的最新进展、卵巢癌表观基因组在开发诊断和预后生物标志物方面的重要性，以及目前用于卵巢癌的表观遗传疗法。
