Recent Advances in Epigenomics in NSCLC: Real-Time Detection And Therapeutic Implications

Abstract

NSCLC is an aggressive disease with one of the poorer prognosis among cancers. The disappointing response to chemotherapy drives the search for genetic biomarkers aimed at both attaining an earlier diagnosis and choosing the most appropriate chemotherapy. In this scenario, epigenomic markers, such as DNA methylation, histone acetylation and the expression of noncoding RNAs, have been demonstrated to be reliable for the stratification of NSCLC patients. Newest techniques with increased sensitivity and the isolation of nucleic acids from plasma may allow an early diagnosis and then monitoring the efficacy over time. However, prospective confirmatory studies are still lacking. This article presents an overview of the epigenetic markers evaluated in NSCLC and discusses the role of their real-time detection in the clinical management of the disease.

Keywords::

• DNA methylation
• epigenomics
• histone acetylation
• noncoding RNA
• NSCLC
• plasma tumor nucleic acids

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This article was funded by grants from the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC, Milano, Italy), Istituto Toscano Tumori (ITT, Florence, Italy), Fondazione Cassa Risparmio di Lucca (Lucca, Italy) and from the Italian Ministry of Instruction, University and Research (MIUR, Rome) to R Danesi. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This article was funded by grants from the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC, Milano, Italy), Istituto Toscano Tumori (ITT, Florence, Italy), Fondazione Cassa Risparmio di Lucca (Lucca, Italy) and from the Italian Ministry of Instruction, University and Research (MIUR, Rome) to R Danesi. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.