Journal
CLINICA CHIMICA ACTA
Volume 424, Issue -, Pages 53-65Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2013.05.002
Keywords
Gastric cancer; Epigenetics; Gene methylation; Biomarkers; Clinical outcomes
Categories
Funding
- National Key Program for Developing Basic Research [2010CB933903]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [81171969]
- Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University [NCET-10-0674]
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Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignancies and remains the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Over 70% of new cases and deaths occur in developing countries. In the early years of the molecular biology revolution, cancer research mainly focuses on genetic alterations, including gastric cancer. Epigenetic mechanisms are essential for normal development and maintenance of tissue-specific gene expression patterns in mammals. Disruption of epigenetic processes can lead to altered gene function and malignant cellular transformation. Recent advancements in the rapidly evolving field of cancer epigenetics have shown extensive reprogramming of every component of the epigenetic machinery in cancer, including DNA methylation, histone modifications, nucleosome positioning, noncoding RNAs, and microRNAs. Aberrant DNA methylation in the promoter regions of gene, which leads to inactivation of tumor suppressor and other cancer-related genes in cancer cells, is the most well-defined epigenetic hallmark in gastric cancer. The advantages of gene methylation as a target for detection and diagnosis of cancer in biopsy specimens and non-invasive body fluids such as serum and gastric washes have led to many studies of application in gastric cancer. This review focuses on the most common and important phenomenon of epigenetics, DNA methylation, in gastric cancer and illustrates the impact epigenetics has had on this field. (c) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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