Cancers, Vol. 10, Pages 128: Targeting Epigenetic Aberrations in Pancreatic Cancer, a New Path to Improve Patient Outcomes?

Cancers, Vol. 10, Pages 128: Targeting Epigenetic Aberrations in Pancreatic Cancer, a New Path to Improve Patient Outcomes? Cancers doi: 10.3390/cancers10050128 Authors: Brooke D. Paradise Whitney Barham Martín E. Fernandez-Zapico Pancreatic cancer has one of the highest mortality rates among all types of cancers. The disease is highly aggressive and typically diagnosed in late stage making it difficult to treat. Currently, the vast majority of therapeutic regimens have only modest curative effects, and most of them are in the surgical/neo-adjuvant setting. There is a great need for new and more effective treatment strategies in common clinical practice. Previously, pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer was attributed solely to genetic mutations; however, recent advancements in the field have demonstrated that aberrant activation of epigenetic pathways contributes significantly to the pathogenesis of the disease. The identification of these aberrant activated epigenetic pathways has revealed enticing targets for the use of epigenetic inhibitors to mitigate the phenotypic changes driven by these cascades. These pathways have been found to be responsible for overactivation of growth signaling pathways and silencing of tumor suppressors and other cell cycle checkpoints. Furthermore, new miRNA signatures have been uncovered in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients, further widening the window for therapeutic opportunity. There has been success in preclinical s...
Source: Cancers - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Review Source Type: research