Epigenetic Modifiers in Cancer Treatment: Molecular Mechanisms and Clinical Applications
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Cancer Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 October 2026 | Viewed by 11
Special Issue Editors
2. College of Pharmacy, Health Professions Division, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314, USA
Interests: drug discovery; MDM2; anti-angiogenesis; immunotherapy; epigenetics; HDAC
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
2. Barry and Judy Silverman College of Pharmacy, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314, USA
Interests: biomarker discovery; epigenetic modifiers; molecular biology; translational oncology; HDAC; PD-L1; MDM2
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation and histone modifications, play a pivotal role in triggering cancer growth and progression by altering gene expression, even without the presence of driver mutations. The abnormal methylation status of tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) has been associated with tumorigenesis due to genomic instability, improper gene silencing ability, and immune evasion. Altered DNA methylation significantly supports tumor growth by changing gene expression patterns. Several DNMT inhibitors that can reverse hypermethylation of DNA to induce gene repression that can cause cell cycle arrest and cancer cell death are in clinical use. Recent studies indicate that combining DNMT inhibitors with chemotherapies and immunotherapies can have synergistic effects, especially in aggressive metastatic tumors, and improve therapeutic outcomes. Utilizing genome-wide analyses of epigenetic alterations to create personalized therapies tailored to individual patient needs are promising strategies for enhancing therapeutic outcomes.
Since epigenetic-modifying drugs offer tremendous therapeutic potential, as they influence both cancer cells and tumor-supportive mechanisms within the tumor microenvironment, translating bench research to bedside application is. This Special Issue will focus on molecules, mechanisms, and strategies that are proven or emerging to target DNA and histone modifications that underlie cancer growth, metastasis, resistance, and cancer reoccurrence. For this purpose, we welcome original research articles or comprehensive review articles that will provide a critical analysis of various epigenetic modifiers and their mechanisms and potential use for treating cancers.
Prof. Dr. Appu Rathinavelu
Dr. Umamaheswari Natarajan
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- epigenetics
- histones
- DNA methylation
- histone acetylations
- chromatin remodeling
- DNMTs (DNMT1, DNMT3A, DNMT3B)
- PRMTs
- HDACs
- miRNA
- ncRNAs
- lncRNA
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