Diagnostic and Therapeutic Implications of Histone Epigenetic Modulators in Breast Cancer.

ABSTRACT

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and great advancements have been made for individualised patient treatment. Through understanding the underlying altered biology in the different subtypes of breast cancer, targeted therapeutics have been developed. Unfortunately, resistance to targeted therapy, intrinsic or acquired, is a recurring theme in cancer treatment. Epigenetic-mediated resistance to targeted therapy has been identified across different types of cancer. In addition, tumorigenesis has also been linked to altered expression of epigenetic modifiers. Due to the reversible nature of epigenetic modifications, epigenetic proteins are appealing as therapeutic targets in both the primary and relapsed/resistant setting. In this review, we will discuss the current state of targetable epigenetic histone modifications and their diagnostic and therapeutic implications in breast cancer.