TITLE:
The Role of RNA Epitranscriptomics and the RNA Fat Mass and Obesity-Associated Demethylase in Triple Negative Breast Cancer
AUTHORS:
Emilija Sagaityte, Richard S. Dowd, Kendall Lane, Stephanie L. Graff, Steven A. Toms
KEYWORDS:
Breast Cancer, Obesity, Fat Mass and Obesity-Associated, Chemotherapy, Ep-igenetics, RNA
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Breast Cancer Research,
Vol.12 No.2,
April
10,
2023
ABSTRACT: Breast cancer is one of the
most commonly diagnosed cancers and one of the most significant sources of
cancer mortality. Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a particularly
aggressive subtype that has proven difficult to treat with standard chemotherapies.
Obesity has also been shown to exacerbate breast cancer, and diagnoses of these
two diseases frequently overlap. Both conditions are regulated in part by the
fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) demethylase, an RNA demethylase which may
drive breast cancers through epigenetic alterations to gene expression. Methods
of inhibiting FTO have been researched in vitro and in vivo as an
alternative or adjunct to chemotherapies in multiple cancers, including breast
cancer. Translating knowledge of the role of FTO in breast cancer and the
development of novel agents may allow for improvements in the treatment of this
refractory cancer. This review therefore aims to provide an overview of
existing and developing chemical inhibitors of FTO that could be innovatively
studied for the treatment of TNBC and associated comorbidity.