This week BMC Seminar Thursday, 26th February will be at 12:20 in room 343, Læknagarður

Speaker: Dr. Ólafur Andri Stefánsson, Research specialist at Cancer Research Laboratory, BioMedical Center

Title: Cancer epigenetics: emerging therapeutic opportunities

Short abstract: In recent years, technical advances in DNA sequencing have led to increased knowledge on recurrent gene mutations found in various cancer types. A prominent finding across many different cancer types includes the discovery of mutations in epigenetic genes, i.e. genes involved in regulating chromatin packaging. For an example, the ARID1A gene, a chromatin remodelling factor, has recently been found mutated in approximately half of all clear cell ovarian cancers and has subsequently been found mutated in other cancer types such as breast cancers. Other notable examples include IDH1 mutations in gliomas along with MLL2 and MLL3 mutations in breast cancers. These and other findings have firmly established epigenetic processes as a key factor in carcinogenesis while also highlighting an interplay between epigenetic changes and mutations. Pre-clinical results have already emerged indicating promising therapeutic opportunities with respect to cancer epigenetics. These findings will be discussed in the context of current work being carried out in my post-doctoral project.