The following is a summary of “Exploring the role of epigenetic alterations and non-coding RNAs in melanoma pathogenesis and therapeutic strategies,” published in the December 2023 issue of Dermatology by Rubatto, et al.
Melanoma is a very rare but very dangerous type of skin cancer that is becoming more common around the world. Melanoma is known for being very resistant to treatment and coming back. Even though treatments for advanced melanoma have come a long way, many people still have their cancer get worse because of mechanisms of resistance. Epigenetic changes, such as those that happen in chromatin remodeling, DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNA rearrangements, can lead to melanoma growth, spread, and drug resistance. For a study, researcher sought to sum up the latest studies on epigenetic processes in melanoma and how they might be used to treat the disease.
In particular, they discuss about how histone acetylation and methylation affected gene expression and the biology of melanoma. They also discussed about the encouraging results of HDAC inhibitors and DNMT inhibitors in clinical studies. They also look at how non-coding RNA, especially miRNAs, can get out of whack and how they might be used to treat cancer. Lastly, they discussed about the problems that come with epigenetic treatments. For example, the need for combination therapies to get around drug resistance and the fact that epigenetic processes are hard to understand when used with immunotherapies.
In conclusion, epigenetic changes might be able to be undone, and using both standard treatments and drugs that target epigenetics together could be a good way to help the growing number of patients who become resistant to treatment or even stop it from happening. Even though there are a number of clinical studies going on, it is very hard to make medicines that work because these processes are so complicated. To fully understand the role of epigenetic processes in melanoma and to make treatments that work better and more precisely, more study was needed.
