Epigenetics in DNA Repair Mechanism and their Relation to Cancer

The epigenetic model for the development of cancer is based on the concept that cancer develops due to overall hypomethylation of the genome with concomitant hypermethylation of promoters of oncogenes. Recent research unravels the epigenetic mechanisms of the malignant transformation of the cell and it contributes to the development of more efficient therapies. Methods. Detailed investigation of recent literature on PubMed using the keywords DNA repair, epigenetics Conclusions. It is known that a prominent mechanism of the surveillance of the integrity of the genome is the DNA repair system that protects the cell from deleterious insults by the recruitment of the DNA Damage Response (DDR). Mutations of the genes of this complex system are associated with immunodeficiencies and a predisposition to cancer. Recently, defects of the epigenetic DNA repair sequential regulation are described in cancer tissues. The epigenetic dysfunction involves changes in the methylation patterns of promoters and genes, aberrant histone modifications and the expression of variants, deregulation of histone readers and miRNA processing which will be analyzed in the review.