Epigenetics Therapy 2009 Dream Team - Stand Up To Cancer

Dream Teams

Research  >  Research Portfolio  >  Dream Teams  >  Epigenetics Therapy 2009 Dream Team

SU2C Epigenetics Dream Team:
Bringing Epigenetic Therapy to the Forefront of Cancer Management

Grant Term: December 2009–January 2015

Epigenetic mechanisms help control the expression of genes—whether they are turned on or off—without affecting the genes’ DNA sequences themselves. Whether a cell becomes cancerous depends not only on its genome, but also on its epigenome. The goal of the SU2C Epigenetics Dream Team’s work is to test drugs that will change the epigenome to potentially treat many kinds of cancer.

Supported By:

ABOUT THIS TEAM’S RESEARCH

While it is now well established that cancer is a consequence of genetic alterations, it is becoming increasingly clear that disruption of epigenetic mechanisms is also a hallmark of the disease. Those epigenetic mechanisms help control the expression of genes—whether they are turned on or off—without affecting the genes’ DNA sequences themselves.

Thus, whether a cell becomes cancerous depends not only on its genome (whether key genes are mutated), but also on its epigenome (whether genes are expressed appropriately). Epigenomics has become the focus of a rapidly emerging and important new area of cancer research.

Unlike DNA mutations, which are permanent, epigenetic changes can be reversed. This means that it may be possible to find a way to regulate inappropriate activity or to get a gene that is improperly expressed, due to epigenetic changes, to begin functioning normally again.

The SU2C Epigenetics Dream Team is using a combination of two drugs (a DNA-demethylating agent and a histone deacetylase inhibitor) to reverse the epigenetic modifications that have inappropriately turned genes on or off in cancer cells. The overarching goal of this project is to bring the promise of epigenetic therapy to clinical practice.

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY

Sign up to receive emails from Stand Up To Cancer.
   Please leave this field empty
Please validate the captcha
Stand Up to Cancer

Thanks for signing up!
You will hear from us soon.