The emerging molecular mechanism of m6A modulators in tumorigenesis and cancer progression

N-6-methyladenosine (m(6)A) is the most abundant RNA modification; m(6)A modifications are installed by methyltransferases, removed by demethylases and recognized by reader proteins. M(6)A plays crucial roles in a variety of biological processes by regulating target RNA translation, splicing, nuclear export, and decay. Since the establishment of methylated RNA immunoprecipitation-sequencing methodology, over three hundred articles about m(6)A modulators, including writers, erasers and readers, have been reported in the last four years. In addition, an increasing number of molecular mechanisms underlying m(6)A RNA methylation in human cancers have been comprehensively clarified. The recently emerged molecular mechanisms of m(6)A modulators in cancer cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, migration and invasion, apoptosis, and autophagy remain to be summarized. Hence, this review specifically summarizes these recent advances in the understanding of m(6)A molecular mechanisms in tumorigenesis and cancer progression. In addition, we discuss the prospect of using an m(6)A methylation modulator as a new diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target for human cancers.