Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2006 Feb;15(2):489-94.

Histone deacetylase inhibitors: a novel target of anticancer therapy (review)

Gregory Kouraklis  1 , Stamos Theocharis
Affiliations
  • PMID: 16391874
Review

Histone deacetylase inhibitors: a novel target of anticancer therapy (review)

Gregory Kouraklis et al. Oncol Rep. 2006 Feb.

Abstract

Accumulating evidence suggests that the acetylation and deacetylation of histones play significant roles in transcriptional regulation of eukaryotic cells. The balance between acetylation and deacetylation is an important factor in regulating gene expression and is thus linked to the control of cell fate. The histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDIs) including the hydroxamic acids, such as suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid and pyroxamide, the benzamides MS-275 and CI-994 and the butyrate derivative 4-PBA are a new class of anti-neoplastic agents currently being evaluated in clinical trials. Moreover, new synthetic HDIs have been used recently in phase I and II clinical trials. Over the next few years experts believe that as first generation HDIs produce clinical benefits and second generation inhibitors are rationally designed with improved specificity, this class of drugs will emerge as a new way of cancer treatment. The first clinical studies have shown that histone hyperacetylation can be achieved safely in humans and that treatment of cancer with such agents seems to become possible. The use of HDIs, probably in association with classical chemotherapy drugs or in combination with DNA-demethylating agents, could be promising for cancer patients. Further evaluation is needed to establish the clinical activity of combination therapy using HDIs with cytotoxic drugs or differentiation induced agents.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

LinkOut - more resources