Epigenetic pharmacology

Decades of research focused on the genetic basis for development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma have yielded tremendous discoveries. Clues to increase our understanding of the underlying biology of disease, the time along which the disease develops, and the potential vulnerabilities of disease are being elucidated daily. Alongside this genetically driven paradigm, researchers have uncovered the phenomenon of dramatically altered protein expression in the absence of an associated gene mutation. Through a mechanism termed epigenetics, the transcription and translation of genes can be dramatically altered by a variety of mechanisms including DNA methylation and histone modification. The fundamental concepts of epigenetics and major molecular agents that participate in setting the epigenome are reviewed herein. For each mechanism, the pharmacologic agents available for current use and the research underlying their approval are discussed. The potential impact of epigenetic pharmacology in pancreatic cancer is discussed in turn, and future directions of current research efforts are outlined.