Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common human malignancy in the world, with high mortality and poor prognosis for patients. Among the risk factors are tobacco and alcohol intake, human papilloma virus, and also genetic and epigenetic modifications. Many studies show that epigenetic events play an important role in HNSCC development and progression, including DNA methylation, chromatin remodeling, histone posttranslational covalent modifications, and effects of non-coding RNA. Epigenetic modifications may influence silencing of tumor suppressor genes by promoter hypermethylation, regulate transcription by microRNAs and changes in chromatin structure, or induce genome instability through hypomethylation. Moreover, getting to better understand aberrant patterns of methylation may provide biomarkers for early detection and diagnosis, while knowledge about target genes of microRNAs may improve the therapy of HNSCC and extend overall survival. The aim of this review is to present recent studies which demonstrate the role of epigenetic regulation in the development of HNSCC.

中文翻译：

---

头颈癌的表观遗传修饰。

头颈部鳞状细胞癌（HNSCC）是世界上第六大最常见的人类恶性肿瘤，患者死亡率高，预后差。危险因素包括烟草和酒精摄入，人乳头瘤病毒以及遗传和表观遗传修饰。许多研究表明，表观遗传事件在HNSCC的发展和进程中起着重要作用，包括DNA甲基化，染色质重塑，组蛋白翻译后共价修饰以及非编码RNA的作用。表观遗传修饰可能通过启动子高甲基化影响肿瘤抑制基因的沉默，通过microRNA调节转录和染色质结构的改变，或通过低甲基化诱导基因组不稳定。此外，更好地了解甲基化异常模式可能为早期检测和诊断提供生物标记，而有关microRNA靶基因的知识可能会改善HNSCC的治疗并延长总体生存期。这篇综述的目的是提出最近的研究，这些研究证明了表观遗传调控在HNSCC发生中的作用。