Deacetylase inhibitors: a novel class of drugs for immune system malignancies

At the 2016 Annual Meeting of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT), held in Valencia, Spain, Gesine Bug, MD from University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Germany discusses deacetylase inhibitors, which inhibit acetylation of histones and several proteins important for cancer. Deacetylase inhibitors can induces apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and differentiation. They also have effects on the immune system. Four deacetylase inhibitors have been approved by the FDA and used in patients with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) and Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) after transplant.