ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oncol.

Sec. Molecular and Cellular Oncology

Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1549477

This article is part of the Research TopicEpigenetic Modulation in CancerView all articles

Epigenetic modifications in follicular cell-derived thyroid cancer: new dimensions in pathogenesis and treatment

Provisionally accepted
Yanmei HanYanmei Han1,2,3Bian WuBian Wu4Jie TanJie Tan5Ruolin WuRuolin Wu1,2,3Jingjing WangJingjing Wang1,2,3Xiaojing RenXiaojing Ren1,2,3Yajing ZhangYajing Zhang1,2,3Zairong GaoZairong Gao1,2,3Xiaotian XiaXiaotian Xia1,2,3*
  • 1Department of Nuclear Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
  • 2Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, Hebei Province, China
  • 3Key Laboratory of Biological Targeted Therapy, the Ministry of Education, Wuhan, Hebei Province, China
  • 4Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
  • 5Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, Wuhan Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China

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In recent years, the incidence of thyroid cancer has exhibited an increasing trend. Traditionally, tumors are believed to be caused by the accumulation of mutations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Since the 1980s, however, it has been acknowledged that the role of another key regulatory system in carcinogenesis: epigenetics, shedding light on the regulation of gene expression without altering the DNA sequence. Epigenetic alterations regulate gene expression mainly by the chemical modification of DNA or histones, altering the chromatin state, and non-coding RNAs. A growing body of evidence suggests that the dysregulation of epigenetic mechanisms is prevalent in thyroid cancer and contribute to tumorigenesis and cancer progression. This review summarizes accumulated knowledge on epigenetic modifications in follicular cell-derived thyroid cancer, encompassing DNA methylation, histone modifications, chromatin remodeling and RNA regulation, highlighting their potential as viable targets for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.

Keywords: epigenetics, Follicular cell-derived thyroid cancer, biomarker, inhibitors, therapy

Received: 21 Dec 2024; Accepted: 25 Apr 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Han, Wu, Tan, Wu, Wang, Ren, Zhang, Gao and Xia. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Xiaotian Xia, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, Hubei Province, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material