DNA methylation markers in esophageal cancer: an emerging tool for cancer surveillance and treatment

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader DNA methylation markers in esophageal cancer: an emerging tool for cancer surveillance and treatment Via American Journal of Cancer Research Am J Cancer Res. 2021 Nov 15;11(11):5644-5658. eCollection 2021. ABSTRACT Esophageal carcinoma (EC) is one of the most pervasive cancers in the world, with upwards of 500,000 new diagnoses, annually. Despite its prominence, advancements in the detection and treatment of EC have been marginal over the past 30 years and the survival rate continues to stay below 20%. This is due to the uncommonly heterogeneous presentation of EC which presents unprecedented challenges in improving patient survival and quality of care. However, distinct epigenetic alterations to the DNA methylome may provide an avenue to drastically improve the detection and treatment of EC. Specifically, the creation of novel biomarker panels that consist of EC-specific methylation markers have shown promise as a potential alternative to the more invasive, contemporary diagnostic methods. Additionally, growing insight into the biological and clinical properties of EC-spec ific methylation patterns have opened a window of opportunity for enhanced treatment; of growing interest is the application of "DNMT inhibitors" - a class of drugs which inhibit excessive methylation and have been shown to re-sensitize chemoresistant tumors. Here we provide a comprehensive review of the current advancements in EC DNA methylation to underscore a potential approach to its detection and treatment. PMID:34873485 | PMC:PMC8640794 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.