Histone Mutations and Cancer

This book focuses on histone mutations, especially those mutations closely related to cancer. Genetic mutations and epigenetic alterations contribute to the development of a variety of cancers: recent genetic studies have identified e.g. H3K27M and H3G34R/V mutation in over 75% of DIPG cases, H3.3K36M mutation in more than 90% of chondroblastoma cases, and H3G34W/L mutation in over 90% of giant cell tumors of bone. Given the high incidence and tumorigenesis effects of histone H3 mutations, they are also referred to as oncohistones.

This book highlights the advances made in the area over the past 10 years, and offers a state-of-the-art summary of epigenetic alternation, gene expression, protein structure, drug discovery, immunotherapy, and mouse modeling of histone H3 mutations in various tumors. Chiefly intended to provide researchers and graduate students with an overall picture of these mutations, it will also be of interest to researchers in basic oncology, clinical oncology, and epigenetics, as well as academics and clinical oncology practitioners.

Dr. Dong Fang received his Ph.D. from Tsinghua University, China in 2012. After that, he worked for four years at the Mayo Clinic, USA, where he focused on understanding the role of epigenetic regulation of gene expression and on how oncohistones reprogram the epigenetic landscape and gene expression to drive tumorigenesis. In 2016, he joined the Institute for Cancer Genetics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, USA as an Associate Research Scientist, and continued his research on oncohistones. He joined Zhejiang University in 2018, and has since established his own laboratory at its Life Sciences Institute, focusing on histone mutations and epigenetic inheritance.

Junhong Han, Ph.D. is a Primary Investigator at the State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, Sichuan University. He is also a Professor at the West China School of Medicine and a member of the Cancer Center at West China Hospital, Sichuan University. His main research interests are in the areas of DNA replication, epigenetic modifications in genome stability, and cancer epigenetics. Currently, Dr. Han is also working to identify and analyze the genes, pathways, and networks involved in cancer chemoresistance, and to understand the transcriptional heterogeneity for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma primary tumor with metastasis. Dr. Han received his Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan and completed his post-doctoral training at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA.