methylation
Study reveals cancer-linked epigenetic effects of smoking
For the first time, UK scientists have reported direct evidence that taking up smoking results in epigenetic changes associated with the development of cancer.
The results were reported at the 35th Congress of the European Society for Medical On…
Mechanism behind demethylation pinpointed in APC gene mutants
Salt Lake City, September 17, 2010 — Colon cancer is the second most common cancer in the United States and causes more than 50,000 deaths each year. It has been known for some time that mutations in the APC gene occur in more than 85 percent of al…
Oral drug turns on silenced genes, turns off cancer
Oral administration of a drug that inhibits a process known as DNA methylation results in a reduction in the size of malignant tumors in mice, according to a team of researchers led by scientists from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. The drug, called zebularine, accomplishes its tumor-whittling by turning on tumor suppressor genes that have been turned off by methylation.