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Cancer Research UK


Review

British Journal of Cancer (2004) 90, 761-769.
doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6601575

Linking the epigenetic 'language' of covalent histone modifications to cancer

S B Hake1, A Xiao1 and C D Allis1

1Laboratory of Chromatin Biology, The Rockefeller University, Box 78, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA



Correspondence to: Dr CD Allis, E-mail: alliscd@rockefeller.edu

Received 29 September 2003; accepted 11 November 2003



Covalent modifications of histones, such as acetylation, methylation, and phosphorylation, and other epigenetic modulations of the chromatin, such as methylation of DNA and ATP-dependent chromatin reorganisation, can play a major part in the multistep process of carcinogenesis, with far-reaching implications for human biology and human health. This review focuses on how aberrant covalent histone modifications may contribute to the development of a variety of human cancers, and discusses the recent findings with regard to potential therapies.

Keywords: histones; chromatin; cancer; epigenetics

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