Histone deacetylase inhibitors and epigenetic regulation in lymphoid malignancies.

A vast majority of lymphomas and leukaemias are results of translocations. These translocations produce various genetic and epigenetic changes that lead to oncogenesis. This opens an opportunity to use a relatively new class of anti-cancer agents, inhibitors of histone deacetylases (HDACi) to target lymphoid malignancies. Surprisingly, the rational basis for treatment of lymphomas with HDACi is far from clear, although some positive results have been obtained. Here we analyze the effect of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors on lymphoid malignancies.