Abstract
Regional hypermethylation and global hypomethylation coexist in cancer cells. Under-standing the mechanisms responsible for global hypomethylation and regional hypermethylation in cancer is required for the proper design of therapeutic strategies targeting the DNA methylation machinery. This chapter discusses different models explaining this paradox. Global hypomethylation is proposed to be associated with activation by demethylation of metastasis-associated genes. Thus, anticancer therapy directed at DNA methyltransferase might have the untoward effect of promoting metastasis. Inhibition of demethylase activity on the other hand could potentially inhibit metastasis. It is therefore im-portant to identify and characterize the enzymes responsible for global hypomethylation in cancer.
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Keywords
- Acute Myeloid Leukemia
- Tumor Suppressor Gene
- Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia
- Nucleoside Analogue
- Aberrant Methylation
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Reid, G.K., MacLeod, A.R. (2005). DNA Methyltransferase Inhibitors. In: DNA Methylation and Cancer Therapy. Medical Intelligence Unit. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-27443-X_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-27443-X_14
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
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