Cancer Management and Research (Dec 2023)
Epigenome-Driven Strategies for Personalized Cancer Immunotherapy
Abstract
Gabriel Iudy Yamaguchi Rocha,1 Jonathas Eduardo Miranda Gomes,1 Michel Lopes Leite,1,2 Nicolau B da Cunha,1,3,4 Fabricio F Costa1,5,6 1Genomic Sciences and Biotechnology Program, Catholic University of Brasilia, Brasília, DF, Brazil; 2Department of Cell Biology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, University of Brasilia (UnB), Brasília, DF, Brazil; 3Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine (FAV), Campus Darcy Ribeiro, University of Brasilia (UnB), Brasília, DF, Brazil; 4Graduate Program in Agronomy, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, University of Brasilia (UnB), Brasília, DF, Brazil; 5Cancer Biology and Epigenomics Program, Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA; 6Genomic Enterprise, San Francisco CA, USACorrespondence: Fabricio F Costa, Genomic Sciences and Biotechnology Program, UCB SGAN 916 Modulo B, Bloco C, Brasília, DF, 70790-160, Brazil, Email [email protected] Nicolau B da Cunha, Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine (FAV), University of Brasília (UnB), Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília, DF, 70910-900, Brazil, Email [email protected]: Fighting cancer remains one of the greatest challenges for science in the 21st century. Advances in immunotherapy against different types of cancer have greatly contributed to the treatment, remission, and cure of patients. In this context, knowledge of epigenetic phenomena, their relationship with tumor cells and how the immune system can be epigenetically modulated represent some of the greatest advances in the development of anticancer therapies. Epigenetics is a rapidly growing field that studies how environmental factors can affect gene expression without altering DNA sequence. Epigenomic changes include DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNA regulation, which impact cellular function. Epigenetics has shown promise in developing cancer therapies, such as immunotherapy, which aims to stimulate the immune system to attack cancer cells. For example, PD-1 and PD-L1 are biomarkers that regulate the immune response to cancer cells and recent studies have shown that epigenetic modifications can affect their expression, potentially influencing the efficacy of immunotherapy. New therapies targeting epigenetic modifications, such as histone deacetylases and DNA methyltransferases, are being developed for cancer treatment, and some have shown promise in preclinical studies and clinical trials. With growing understanding of epigenetic regulation, we can expect more personalized and effective cancer immunotherapies in the future. This review highlights key advances in the use of epigenetic and epigenomic tools and modern immuno-oncology strategies to treat several types of tumors.Keywords: epigenetics, epigenomics, PD-1, PD-L1, epigenetic biomarkers, oncology, immunotherapy
