Epigenetic basis of human cancer

Abstract

It is now overwhelmingly clear that any comprehensive study of cancer genomes should address epigenetics. The study of cancer epigenetics has changed from a somewhat unrespectable fringe activity to a central place in the molecular understanding of carcinogenesis. Indeed, it is now often argued that the epigenetic changes in cancer are of greater importance than the genetic changes. It is clear that both genetic and epigenetic mechanisms are important and often interrelated. In this chapter, we seek to give an introduction to the essentials of cancer. As this is a rapidly growing area, it is now impossible to cover many of the seminal contributions and so the overview provided is necessarily colored by our own specific interests. While we have sought to include many original references, we have also cited other reviews to enable the reader to find out more on a given topic.