Research advances of N6-methyladenosine in diagnosis and therapy of pancreatic cancer

Background N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the addition of a methyl group on the N6 position of adenosine and is the most prevalent and abundant epigenetic modification in eukaryote mRNA. m6A marks are added to mRNA by the m6A methyltransferase complex ("writers"), removed by m6A demethylases ("erasers"), and recognized by m6A-binding proteins ("readers"). Recent evidence has shown that the m6A modification plays a crucial role in the pathogenic mechanism and malignant progression of pancreatic cancer, with roles in cell survival, proliferation, migration, invasion, tumor metastasis, and drug resistance. Methods Literature was searched in Pubmed and Web of Science for the following keywords: "N6-methyladenosine", "pancreatic cancer", "epigenetic modification", "immunotherapy". Results Among classical m6A regulators, while METTL3, METTL14, WTAP, FTO, YTHDF2, IGF2BP1-3, hnRNPC, and NKAP are upregulated in pancreatic cancer, METTL16 and ALKBH5 are downregulated in pancreatic cancer. m6A modification has been investigated in pancreatic cancer therapy. Conclusion Dysregulated m6A and its related factors in pancreatic cancer cells and patients indicate their potential values as novel biomarkers in pancreatic cancer diagnosis and targeted therapy.