Emerging epigenetic targets and therapies in cancer medicine

Abnormalities in the epigenetic regulation of chromatin structure and function can lead to aberrant gene expression and cancer development. Consequently, epigenetic therapies aim to restore normal chromatin modification patterns through the inhibition of various components of the epigenetic machinery. Histone deacetylase and DNA methyltransferase inhibitors represent the first putative epigenetic therapies; however, these agents have pleiotropic effects and it remains unclear how they lead to therapeutic responses. More recently, drugs that inhibit histone methyltransferases were developed, perhaps representing more specific agents. We review emerging epigenetic targets in cancer and present recent models of promising epigenetic therapies.

The use of DNA methyltransferase and histone deacetylase inhibitors in patients has validated the use of drugs targeted to epigenetic enzymes and strengthened the need for development of additional therapies. In this review, we summarize recently discovered epigenetic abnormalities, their implications for cancer, and the approaches taken for discovering small-molecule inhibitors targeting various properties of the epigenetic machinery.