演 題：Epigenetic alterations in Cancer：Basic principles and applications
演 者：Dun-Fa Peng, MD, PhD, Research Instructor, Surgical Oncology Research, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
内 容： Abstract: Cancers have traditionally been
considered as genetic disorders that are driven by stepwise accumulation of
genetic alterations; such as gene mutation, deletion, insertion, fusion, copy
number alteration, chromosomal instability etc. However, recent studies have
added epigenetic alterations in the initiation and progression of tumor by
deregulating gene expression. Epigenetics is referred as stably
heritable phenotype resulting from changes in a chromosome without
alterations in the DNA sequence; including DNA methylation, histone
modifications, nucleosome remodeling as well as small non-coding regulatory
RNAs . And the interplay between genetic and epigenetic alterations actually
occurs through the carcinogenesis process. I will briefly introduce the basic
concepts of genetics and epigenetics, the major genetic and epigenetic
alterations in cancers and the common technologies available for studying these
alterations. I will also give some experimental examples that I have done
during the past years to discuss the possible application in research and
clinical practice.
