Chapter 5 - Clinical Epigenetics of Lung Cancer

Abstract

In 2015, lung cancer accounted for an estimated 221,200 new cancer diagnoses and 158,040 deaths in the United States, with the majority being attributable to cigarette smoking. Epigenetic perturbations, such as in DNA methylation, histone modifications, and noncoding RNA, are commonplace during the development and progression of lung cancer. A number of promising epigenetic biomarkers have been reported in the literature that are at varying stages of development, and a number of epigenetic drugs are currently undergoing clinical evaluation, either as single agents or in combination with other drugs. Continued elucidation of the epigenetic events that arise in lung cancer can open new avenues for early detection, diagnosis, and management of the disease. This chapter will provide an overview of the epigenetic landscape of lung cancer and common somatic mutations in key epigenetic regulators, as well as a description of the current state of epigenetic lung cancer biomarkers and treatment modalities that are currently undergoing preclinical or clinical evaluation.