Epigenetics Involvement in Breast Cancer

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide, costing the lives of millions of women around the world. Despite the enormous research by scientists, screening programs, and awareness campaigns, we are still far away from the goal of lowering the global burden of breast cancer. For the precise drug designing and better clinical management of breast carcinoma, it is essential to decipher the underpinning molecular mechanisms of breast carcinogenesis. Due to enormous efforts to understand tumor biology, it had been unveiled that transformation of normal to malignant cells involves not only genetic mutations but also epigenetic mutations. The interplay of both types of mutations initiates malignant transformation and is responsible for cancer development and progression.The distinguishing property of epigenetic mutations is that epigenetic modifications do not alter the sequence of the DNA, making them not only an attractive candidate as a prognostic and diagnostic biomarker but also a potential therapeutic target. Aberrant epigenetic modifications, namely, histone modifications, DNA methylation, and non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have a crucial role in initiating breast carcinogenesis, progression, and drug resistance. Moreover, distinct epigenetic mutations are involved in every stage of breast cancer and can be differentiated between the tumor and normal tissues. In this chapter, we will discuss in detail the three types of epigenetic modifications involved in breast cancer and will give a detailed account of their remarkable potential as diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers. Lastly, we will also shed light on why epigenetic mutations hold a promising future as a therapeutic target for precision medicine.KeywordsEpigenetic modificationsHistone modificationsDNA methylationNon-coding RNAs (ncRNAs)