Recent developments in whole epigenomic analysis have led to an explosion of knowledge of the links between chromatin structure and stem cell behavior and differentiation. Importantly, chromatin structures established in embryonic stem cells alter the predisposition of genes to become permanently silenced in cancer. The mechanisms responsible for the interplay between the polycomb repressive system and the DNA methylation system are becoming elucidated. This session will examine how the epigenome is reprogrammed during normal cellular development and in cancer, and what this means for future cancer therapies.
Symposium: Ruth Sager Memorial Symposium on Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics: Epigenomics and the Stem Cell: The Cancer Connection

Epigenetic regulation of stem cells and cancer; Bradley E. Bernstein. Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA

Epigenetics in cancer: Cause and consequence; Paula M. Vertino. Emory Univ. Winship Cancer Inst., Atlanta, GA

DNA hypermethylation and gene silencing: Clues to the stem cell programming of cancer cells; Stephen B. Baylin. Johns Hopkins Univ. School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD,