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World J Clin Oncol. Nov 24, 2020; 11(11): 890-897
Published online Nov 24, 2020. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v11.i11.890
Updates on “Cancer Genomics and Epigenomics”
Aarti Sharma, Kiran Lata Sharma, Cherry Bansal, Ashok Kumar
Aarti Sharma, Ashok Kumar, Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow 226014, India
Kiran Lata Sharma, Department of Pathology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, United States
Cherry Bansal, Department of Pathology, Era’s Medical College and Hospital, Lucknow 226003, India
Author contributions: Aarti S and Kiran LS wrote the manuscript, revised it critically for important intellectual content, and contributed to the conception or design of the work, acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data; Cherry B and Ashok K drafted the work, revised it critically for important intellectual content, and contributed to the conception or design of the work, acquisition, and analysis of data.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ashok Kumar, FACS, MD, Professor, Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Raibareli Rd, Lucknow 226014, India. akgupta@sgpgi.ac.in, doc.ashokgupta@gmail.com
Received: February 25, 2020
Peer-review started: February 25, 2020
First decision: June 13, 2020
Revised: July 3, 2020
Accepted: August 1, 2020
Article in press: August 1, 2020
Published online: November 24, 2020
Abstract

The field of “Cancer Genomics and Epigenomes” has been widely investigated for their involvement in cancer to understand the basic processes of different malignancies. The aggregation of genetic and epigenetic alterations also displays a wide range of heterogeneity making it quite necessary to develop personalized treatment strategies. The complex interplay between DNA methylation and chromatin dynamics in malignant cells is one of the major epigenetic mechanisms that lead to gene activation and repression. Hence, each tumor needs to be fully characterized to satisfy the ideas of personalized treatment strategies. The present article addresses various aspects of genome characterization methods and their potential role in the field of cancer genomics and epigenomics.

Keywords: Genetics, Epigenetics, Chromatin, Cancer, Copy number variations, Transcription, Histone-modifications

Core Tip: Various genetic, as well as epigenetic alterations such as mutations, copy number variations, structural variations, and epigenetic dysregulations, are described as hallmarks of cancer. Understanding the complex interplay of genetic and epigenetic changes is exceedingly important for improving cancer care and the development of personalized medicine. Advanced genome analysis tools have enabled researchers to obtain a comprehensive picture of the cancer genome. However, the understanding of tumor genomics/epigenomics and the correct use of technology are tightly coupled processes. The present article summarizes various genome analytic methods utilized in cancer biology.