Abstract
Breast cancer is already the most common malignancy affecting women worldwide, and evidence is mounting that breast cancer induced by circadian disruption (CD) is a warranted concern. Numerous studies have investigated various aspects of the circadian clock in relation to breast cancer, and evidence from these studies indicates that melatonin and the core clock genes can play a crucial role in breast cancer development. Even though epigenetics has been increasingly recognized as a key player in the etiology of breast cancer and linked to circadian rhythms, and there is evidence of overlap between epigenetic deregulation and breast cancer induced by circadian disruption, only a handful of studies have directly investigated the role of epigenetics in CD-induced breast cancer. This review explores the circadian clock and breast cancer, and the growing role of epigenetics in breast cancer development and circadian rhythms. We also summarize the current knowledge and next steps for the investigation of the epigenetic link in CD-induced breast cancer.
Highlights
Breast cancer is currently the most common malignancy affecting women worldwide
The results showed that Alu hypomethylation was correlated with an estrogen receptor (ER)-negative status in invasive breast cancer (IBC), while long interspersed nucleotide element-1 (LINE-1) hypomethylation was correlated with an ER-negative status and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression [98]
The findings suggested that LINE-1 hypomethylation is an early event in breast cancer development, while Alu hypomethylation is a late event in breast cancer progression, and that lower Alu methylation is associated with poorer disease-free patient survival [98]
Summary
Breast cancer is currently the most common malignancy affecting women worldwide. It accounts for 25% of all cancers in women and caused 522,000 deaths worldwide in 2012 [1]. Found in almost all nucleated cells of the human body, the core clock genes help maintain circadian rhythm activity in peripheral oscillators but may play a significant role in breast cancer development [26, 27].
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