Cancer epigenetics has emerged as a critical frontier in the fight against cancer. Unlike genetic mutations, epigenetic changes alter gene expression without changing the DNA sequence itself, offering new insights into how cancer develops and thrives. Many pediatric tumors are driven by alterations in transcription factors or chromatin regulators — key players in controlling the epigenome. Cancer cells are particularly vulnerable to the loss of specific epigenetic factors that are often dispensable in normal cells making these factors prime therapeutic targets. Several drugs targeting epigenetic regulators have already been approved for cancer treatment, with numerous others undergoing clinical trials. Moreover, the rewiring of the epigenome has been implicated in cancer cell plasticity and drug resistance, even in the absence of new mutations.
The 2025 St. Anna CCRI Symposium will be devoted to this central topic.
Registration is free of charge.