Hi lotusbud,
You know when the tumor suppressing genes are hypermethylated they are inactivated - the tumor cells get a growth advantage. Read page 20 in this dissertation abour Vidaza in MDS:
http://diss.kib.ki.se/2007/978-91-7357-419-8/thesis.pdf
This is one of the causes of MDS and other cancer diseases.
Another important cause of MDS and other cancer diseases is histone acetylation. Histones are the chief component of chromatin and acts as spools around which DNA is coiled. Some MDS patients get so called histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDAC inhibitors) - like Epival - with good results because histone deacetylation is connected with gene silencing (page 18). If we get an inhibitor of histone deacetylase the genes can sometimes function again.
Kind regards
Birgitta-A