پریسا باقری - Department of Hematology and Blood banking, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Mashhad university of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
شاهین آغه میری - Student research committee, Department of medical biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
علی جعفرپور - Students’ Scientific Research Center, Virology Division, Department of Pathobiology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
محمد علی اسماعیلی - Department of Hematology, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
محمد حدادی اقدم - Molecular Medicine Department, Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran
فرهاد ذاکر - ۶Department of Hematology and Blood Banking, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
سوده نامجو - Department of Hematology and Blood Banking, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Epigenetic changes play an essential role in cancer pathogenesis. It has been established by next-generation sequencing that more than ۵۰% of the human cancers carry mutations in mechanisms involved in the organization of the chromatin and epigenetic regulations. DNA methylation is among the most common epigenetic changes in leukemia. In contrast to DNA mutations which are passively inherited from DNA replication, epimutations, for example, the hypermethylation and epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressor genes, must be actively maintained because of being reversible. Actually, the reversibility of epimutations by small-molecule inhibitors provides the basis for the use of such inhibitors in new cancer therapy strategies. However, DNA methylation mechanism and its role in leukemia are not fully understood; there are some serious concerns about the use of these drugs. In this study, we will review the mechanisms of DNA methylation and the genes that are methylated in leukemia. Moreover, new interesting findings of the epigenetic changes causeed by adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma have been fully discussed.

Epigenetic, Leukemia, Methylation, Neoplasm, Treatment