ABSTRACT In cancer research, the term epigenetics was used in the 1970s in its modern sense encompassing non‐genetic events modifying the chromatin state, mainly to oppose the emerging oncogene paradigm. However, starting from the establishment of this prominent concept, the importance of these epigenetic phenomena in cancer rarely led to questioning the causal role of genetic alterations. Only in the last 10 years, the accumulation of problematic data, better experimental technologies, and some ambitious models pushed the idea that epigenetics could be at least as important as genetics in early oncogenesis. Until this year, a direct demonstration of epigenetic oncogenesis was still lacking. Now, Parreno, Cavalli and colleagues, using a refined experimental model in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster , enforced the initiation of tumors solely by imposing a transient loss of Polycomb repression, leading to a purely epigenetic oncogenesis phenomenon. Despite a few caveats that we discuss, this pioneering work represents a major breakpoint in cancer research. We are led to consider the theoretical and conceptual implications on oncogenesis and to search for links between this artificial experimental model and naturally occurring processes, while revisiting cancer theories that were previously proposed as alternatives to the oncogene‐centered paradigm.

Jean‐Pascal Capp

Benoît Aliaga

Vera Pancaldi

BioEssays

分子 - 细胞 - 生物医学 - 生理学 - 转化研究 - 系统 - 鼓励假设 BIOESSAYS 是一份经过同行评审、审查和讨论的期刊。我们的目标是在分子、遗传、细胞或生理维度上发表当代生物学的新颖见解、前瞻性评论和评论，并作为这些领域新思想的讨论论坛。另一个目标是鼓励在有机体研究、系统方法和生态系统方面的跨学科和综合生物学，在适当的情况下。

BioEssays is a peer-reviewed journal that focuses on molecular, cellular, biomedical, physiological, translational research, and systems biology. Our aim is to publish novel insights, forward-looking reviews, and comprehensive commentaries in contemporary biology, serving as a forum for discussion of new ideas in these fields. Additionally, we encourage interdisciplinary and integrative biology research in organism studies, systems approaches, and ecosystems where appropriate.

BioEssays 是一本经过同行评审的期刊，专注于分子、细胞、生物医学、生理学、转化研究和系统生物学等领域。我们的目标是发表当代生物学的新颖见解、前瞻性评论和综合评述，并为这些领域的新思想提供讨论平台。此外，我们还鼓励在有机体研究、系统方法和生态系统方面的跨学科和综合生物学研究。

Category	Quartile
生物学	3
生物学, 生物学	3
生物学, 生化与分子生物学	4

Evidence of Epigenetic Oncogenesis: A Turning Point in Cancer Research

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