According to the latest global cancer statistics, cancer has become a major threat to human health, but cancer treatment has encountered many bottlenecks. As an emerging topic in epigenetics, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most common internal modification on eukaryotic mRNA, which has attracted increasing attention in recent years. Accumulating studies have shown that aberrant m6A modifications have profound effects on the characteristics of tumors, which undoubtedly led to a significant breakthrough in cancer treatment. Although m6A function as an oncogene or tumor suppressor is not fully revealed, determining its precise function in the development and evolution of malignant tumors is crucial in improving clinical decisions involving targeted therapies. In this review, we briefly introduce the composition of the m6A methylation machinery and mainly summarize the biological mechanism of m6A in cancer cell death, angiogenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and therapeutic resistance. Subsequently, we present the exogenous regulatory factors of m6A and highlight the role of m6A on immune cells and cancer immunotherapy. The potential therapeutic strategies of m6A in human cancer are also discussed, considering research gaps and future applications.
Keywords: N6-methyladenine; angiogenesis; cell death; epithelial-mesenchymal transition; therapeutic resistance; treatment.
© 2021 The Author(s).