unLOCK the mystery of cancer.

Researchers from Hopkins argue that all cancers are more alike than different, and the key lies in the epigenome. This is due to the observation that, preceding the most culpable mutation in the malignant transformation, age and injury often incur epigenetic changes to the normal tissue. Not to mention, while most differentiated cell lines have a significant degree (>40%) of gene silencing via DNA methylation represented by large organized chromatin K9 (LOCK) modifications, malignant cells carry far fewer LOCKs leaving the door wide open to phenotypic plasticity. | Feinberg, N Engl J Med 2018