THOR is a targetable epigenetic biomarker with clinical implications in breast cancer.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and a leading cause of death among women worldwide. Early BC is potentially curable, but the mortality rates still observed among BC patients demonstrate the urgent need of novel and more effective diagnostic and therapeutic options. Limitless self-renewal is a hallmark of cancer, governed by telomere maintenance. In around 95% of BC cases, this process is achieved by telomerase reactivation through upregulation of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT). The hypermethylation of a specific region within the hTERT promoter, termed TERT hypermethylated oncological region (THOR) has been associated with increased hTERT expression in cancer. However, its biological role and clinical potential in BC have ne

SUBMITTER: Apolonio JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9759897 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature