Epigenetics in endometrial carcinogenesis - part 1: DNA methylation

Epigenomics. 2017 May;9(5):737-755. doi: 10.2217/epi-2016-0166. Epub 2017 May 4.

Abstract

Carcinogenesis is a multistep multifactorial process that involves the accumulation of genetic and epigenetic alterations. In the past two decades, there has been an exponential growth of knowledge establishing the importance of epigenetic changes in cancer. Our work focused on reviewing the main role of epigenetics in the pathogenesis of endometrial carcinoma, highlighting the reported results concerning each epigenetic mechanistic layer. The present review is the first part of this work, in which we examined the contribution of DNA methylation alterations for endometrial carcinogenesis.

Keywords: DNA methylation; endometrial carcinoma; epigenetics.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Carcinogenesis / genetics
  • Carcinoma / genetics*
  • Carcinoma / pathology
  • DNA Methylation*
  • Endometrial Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Endometrial Neoplasms / pathology
  • Epigenesis, Genetic*
  • Female
  • Humans