Early epigenetic cancer decisions

Abstract

Abstract A cancer dogma states that inactivation of oncogene(s) can cause cancer remission, implying that oncogenes are the Achilles’ heel of cancers. This current model of cancer has kept oncogenes firmly in focus as therapeutic targets and is in agreement with the fact that in human cancers all cancerous cells, with independence of the cellular heterogeneity existing within the tumour, carry the same oncogenic genetic lesions. However, recent studies of the interactions between an oncogene and its target cell have shown that oncogenes contribute to cancer development via developmental reprogramming of the epigenome within the target cell. These results provide the first evidence that carcinogenesis can be initiated by epigenetic stem cell reprogramming, and uncover a new role for oncogenes in the origin of cancer. Here we analyse these evidences and discuss how this vision offers new avenues for developing novel anti-cancer interventions.