Epigenetics of Melanoma

This chapter discusses skin cancer, more specifically melanoma, summarizing the factors that are most likely to cause onset of the disease, such as UV radiation in fair-skinned people, with all its stages and characteristics. Genetic alterations such as sporadic and heritable mutations are first described, followed by epigenetic aberrations, which are addressed in more detail. Global hypomethylation and site-specific DNA hypermethylation at certain gene promoters as well as the CpG methylator phenotype and histone posttranslational modifications are described. Further, polycomb group protein targets and microRNAs are explained along with their mechanism of action in silencing or upregulating the expression of those genes playing important roles in melanoma onset and progression. Finally, epigenetic therapies are discussed that, in turn, focus on drugs specifically counteracting aberrant DNA methylation patterns. The use of histone deacetylase inhibitors is also addressed.