S-Adenosylmethionine: A Multifaceted Regulator in Cancer Pathogenesis and Therapy

S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) is a key methyl donor that plays a critical role in a variety of cellular processes, such as DNA, RNA and protein methylation, essential for maintaining genomic stability, regulating gene expression and maintaining cellular homeostasis. The involvement of SAMe in cancer pathogenesis is multifaceted, as through its multiple cellular functions, it can influence tumor initiation, progression and therapeutic resistance. In addition, the connection of SAMe with polyamine synthesis and oxidative stress management further underscores its importance in cancer biology. Recent studies have highlighted the potential of SAMe as a biomarker for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Furthermore, the therapeutic implications of SAMe are promising, with evidence suggesting that SAMe supplementation or modulation could improve the efficacy of existing cancer treatments by restoring proper methylation patterns and mitigating oxidative damage and protect against damage induced by chemotherapeutic drugs. Moreover, targeting methionine cycle enzymes to both regulate SAMe availability and SAMe-independent regulatory effects, particularly in methionine-dependent cancers such as colorectal and lung cancer, presents a promising therapeutic approach. Additionally, exploring epitranscriptomic regulations, such as m6A modifications, and their interaction with non-coding RNAs could enhance our understanding of tumor progression and resistance mechanisms. Precision medicine approaches integrating patient subtyping and combination therapies with chemotherapeutics, such as decitabine or doxorubicin, together with SAMe, can enhance chemosensitivity and modulate epigenomics, showing promising results that may improve treatment outcomes. This review comprehensively examines the various roles of SAMe in cancer pathogenesis, its potential as a diagnostic and prognostic marker, and its emerging therapeutic applications. While SAMe modulation holds significant promise, challenges such as bioavailability, patient stratification and context-dependent effects must be addressed before clinical implementation. In addition, better validation of the obtained results into specific cancer animal models would also help to bridge the gap between research and clinical practice.