New Drug Targets Epigenetic Mark, May Help Treat Rare Cancer

June 23, 2020 Danton Ivanochko

In 2020, the FDA approved Epizyme’s drug tazemetostat (Brand name: Tazverik) to treat a rare type of solid tumor called epithelioid sarcoma. Tazemetostat targets the epigenetic enzyme EZH2, which is strongly linked to several cancer types. Now, Epizyme is seeking accelerated approval for tazemetostat to treat a common form of blood cancer called follicular lymphoma, and has clinical trials running for several additional cancer types. Cancer is a genetic disease that causes unrestrained cell proliferation. Typically, chemotherapies treat cancer by [more…]

Gauge Your Age: Epigenetics and the Future of Medicine

June 9, 2020 Adam Alonzi

Why do some people stay healthy throughout their lives and others don’t? While we all age, we don’t all age in the same ways or at the same rate. Epigenetic modifications are largely responsible for this phenomenon, with DNA methylation being the most studied modification. An Epigenetic Clock is a sophisticated way of tracking our “real” age by measuring methylation or demethylation at particular DNA sites (Kanherkar, 2014). The uses for epigenetic clocks are manifold. The most obvious use comes [more…]

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