Linking Epidemiology to Epigenomics—Where Are We Today?

摘要: Cancer is the consequence of genetic and epigenetic alterations. Genetic mutations likely result in part from exposure to environmental carcinogens, giving rise a large field cancer-prevention study these carcinogens ways develop strategies avoid them. Our more-recent understanding regulatory mechanisms associated with DNA methylation, histone modifications, microRNA production increasing rapidly. The involvement processes carcinogenesis raises possibility that exposures may promote or prevent cancer through affecting epigenome. Modifying epigenome particularly intriguing because alterations are potentially reversible, unlike gene mutations, certain dietary factors, such as B-vitamin folate, affect genes’ methylation status (as reported by Wallace et al., beginning on page XXX this issue journal). Rapidly improving techniques for assessing promise yield important insights prevention.