Role of N6-methyladenosine methylation in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: current insights and future prospective

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a distinct type of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma prevalent in Southern China, Southeast Asia, and North Africa. Despite advances in treatment options, the prognosis for advanced NPC remains poor, underscoring the urgent need to explore its underlying mechanisms and develop novel therapeutic strategies. Epigenetic alterations have been shown to play a key role in NPC progression. Recent studies indicate that dysregulation of RNA modifications in NPC specifically affects tumor-related transcripts, influencing various oncogenic processes. This review provides a comprehensive overview of altered RNA modifications and their regulators in NPC, with a focus on m⁶A and its regulatory mechanisms. We discuss how m⁶A RNA modification influences gene expression and affects NPC initiation and progression at the molecular level, analyzing its impact on cancer-related biological functions. Understanding these modifications could reveal new biomarkers and therapeutic targets for NPC, offering promising directions for future research and precision medicine.