Epigenetic targeting approaches for acute myeloid leukemia: reports form the 56th American Society of Hematology annual meeting

Abstract

Acute myeloid leukemia(AML)is a kind of genetic heterogeneous clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorder. Although there were improvements in the outcomes of selected younger patients and those with specific cytogenetic and molecular genetic characteristics, the overall survival for older patients remains dismal. In the last few years, next-generation sequencing technologies have identified recurrent mutations in genes encoding proteins involved in the epigenetic regulation of transcription in most patients with AML. This discovery has led to new insights into the role of the epigenome in AML and opens the possibility of epigenetically targeted therapies. This article will review the most important recurrent mutations in epigenetic regulatory genes and highlight the current and future treatment strategies that attempt to exploit epigenetic targets with the use of hypomethylating agents, which were reported on the 56th American Society of Hematology annual congress in 2014. Key words: Acute myeloid leukemia; Epigenetic, mutation; Hypomethylating agents; Targeting therapy; American Society of Hematology annual meeting