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Critical regulatory levels in tumor differentiation: Signaling pathways, epigenetics and non‐coding transcripts
Author(s) -
Zolghadr Fatemeh,
Bakhshinejad Babak,
Davuchbabny Sapir,
Sarrafpour Babak,
Seyedasli Naisana
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/bies.202000190
Subject(s) - epigenetics , biology , phenotype , chromatin , cellular differentiation , differentiation therapy , tumor initiation , signal transduction , cancer research , metastasis , gene , genetics , cancer , computational biology , acute promyelocytic leukemia , retinoic acid
Approaches to induce tumor differentiation often result in manageable and therapy‐naïve cellular states in cancer cells. This transformation is achieved by activating pathways that drive tumor cells away from plasticity, a state that commonly correlates with enhanced aggression, metastasis and resistance to therapy. Here, we discuss signaling pathways, epigenetics and non‐coding RNAs as three main regulatory levels with the potential to drive tumor differentiation and hence as potential targets in differentiation therapy approaches. The success of an effective therapeutic regimen in one cancer, however, does not necessarily sustain across cancer types; a phenomenon largely resulting from heterogeneity in the genetic and physiological landscapes of tumor types necessitating an approach designed for each cancer's unique genetic and phenotypic build‐up.