According to the American Cancer Society, one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and one in 44 will die from the disease. While the number of cases has drastically reduced in previous years, over 35,000 deaths still occur annually. Ongoing research into the prescreening and genetics of these patients is reducing deaths even more.

One of the most common and important modifiers, or chemical changes, in RNA molecules is m6A. When m6A is misregulated, it can cause abnormal cell growth, making cancers more aggressive and difficult to treat. As such, scientists are studying this as a potential target for cancer therapies.

A recent study published in Nature Genetics that mapped out the landscape of m6A in 162 primary prostate tumors revealed that m6A patterns are influenced by genetic mutations, tumor microenvironment and hypoxia.

The findings include that m6A dysregulation is linked to tumor growth and metastasis, in particular through modifications in genes like VCAN, which drives disease aggression and poor clinical outcomes.

This indicates m6A as a potential biomarker for prostate prognosis and treatment classes, opening new avenues for intervention and targeted therapeutics by showing how RNA changes, genes and environment influence prostate cancer.

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