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RNA N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification in HNSCC: molecular mechanism and therapeutic potential

Cancer Gene Therapy volume 30, pages 1209–1214 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma ranks seventh in incidence of malignant tumours in the world. Although there are treatments including surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy, drug resistance to treatment is caused by various reasons, and the survival rate of patients remains frustrating. To overcome the bottleneck of treatment at this stage, it is urgent to identify possible diagnostic and prognostic markers. N6-methyladenosine is a methylation modification on the sixth N atom of adenine which is the most abundant epitope transcriptome modification in mammalian genes. N6-methyladenosine modification is reversible and results from the interaction among writers, erasers and readers. A large number of studies have proven that N6-methyladenosine modification has important significance in promoting the progression and treatment of tumours and have made great progress in research. In this review, we introduce how N6-methyladenosine modification promotes the occurrence and development of tumours, the mechanism of drug resistance, and new findings of N6-methyladenosine modification in radiotherapy and chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy. N6-methyladenosine modification provides more possibilities for improving the overall survival rate and prognosis of patients.

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Fig. 1: Mechanism of m6A modification in HNSCC drug resistance (by Figdraw).

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Data availability

The studies included were retrieved from PubMed, Google scholar, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science database.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32170910), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20211124), Zhenjiang Key Research and Development Programme (SH2021037) and Medical Research of Health and Health Commission, Jiangsu Province (Z2020056).

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Xinyu Sun, Shengqiao Fu, Xiao Yuan, Xi Pu, RunKun Wang.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Affiliated Hospital, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, China

    Xinyu Sun, RunKun Wang & Hanqiang Lu

  2. Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Institute Of Jiangsu University, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, China

    Xinyu Sun, Shengqiao Fu, Xiao Yuan, Xi Pu & Xu Wang

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Contributions

XYS, SQF and XY conceived the idea and wrote the manuscript. XP and RKW collated the data. XW and HQL (corresponding author) revised and edited the manuscript. The author(s) read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Hanqiang Lu.

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Sun, X., Fu, S., Yuan, X. et al. RNA N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification in HNSCC: molecular mechanism and therapeutic potential. Cancer Gene Ther 30, 1209–1214 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41417-023-00628-9

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