The silence of the genes: clinical applications of epigenetic alterations in cancer

Cancer has long been considered a genetic disease, characterized by a sequential accumulation of genetic alterations. Growing evidence indicates that epigenetic alterations add an additional layer of complexity to the pathogenesis of cancer, and may characterize subgroups of cancer with a distinct etiology and prognosis. Epigenetic dysregulation in cancer is organized at multiple levels, involving amongst others DNA methylation. Aberrant...