Advances in epigenetic research on soft tissue sarcomas / 中国肿瘤临床

ABSTRACT

Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are malignant tumors originating from mesenchymal tissues. They have lower morbidity rates than other cancers, which is only about 1% among adult malignancies. STSs consist of several subtypes and many of them are highly malignant. The 5-year survival rate is approximately 50%-60%. Investigation of STS pathogenesis demonstrated that epigenetic chang-es were closely related to the occurrence and development of STSs. Different from genetics changes, epigenetic changes are heritable and occur mainly through DNA methylation, histone modification, non-coding RNA regulation, and chromatin remodeling, all of which occur without changing the DNA sequence. Elucidation of the epigenetic mechanisms involved in STSs can help develop new clinical di-agnosis and treatment methods, and this article aims to review the recent advances in epigenetic research on STS.