The leader of Cancer Epigenetics Research Group and director of the Josep Carreras Institute, Manel Esteller, together with G. Ferrer and M. Rosselló, join in an article published in Blood Cancer Discovery those key aspects of epitranscriptomics or modifications in RNA that are key to hematopoiesis and the development of malignant haemopathies.

Epitranscriptomics is a field of epigenetics that identifies chemical modifications in RNA molecules. These biochemical markers are involved in several metabolic processes of RNA; however, the biological importance of many of them, and the many enzymes involved in their function, is not fully understood. New knowledge about epitranscriptomics in hematopoiesis and malignant hemopathies reveals the relevance of these chemical markers or modifications in the healthy development of cells, and how their alteration leads to disorders. This fact makes it possible to address epitranscriptoma with a therapeutic approach as a starting point for the development of new molecules and strategies to avoid malignant hemopathies or blood cancers.