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Molecular Oncology Lab
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The lab explores how cancer arises, starting from abnormalities in the marks attached to the genome.
AboutAbout the lab
Environment alters the epigenome and gives rise to cancer.
The Molecular Oncology Lab studies how cancer arises through the epigenome, the information carried by modifications attached to the genome.
Cells with the same genome can behave in many different ways because the epigenome regulates which genes are used.
Environmental factors such as infection and inflammation, as well as metabolic abnormalities, alter the epigenome, and when these abnormalities accumulate they are deeply involved in the development and progression of cancer.
The lab carries out research that leads to diagnosing the risk of developing cancer and to building strategies for treatment and prevention.
Key terms
- Epigenome
- Information carried by the modifications attached to DNA, rather than the DNA base sequence itself. It determines which genes are used.
- DNA methylation
- A modification in which methyl groups are attached at specific places in DNA. It usually turns off the function of that region.
- Histone modification
- Marks attached to histones, the proteins that DNA is wrapped around. They are involved in whether genes are turned on or off.
NewsLab news
A collaborative study on chromatin abnormalities in chronic active EBV infection was published in Blood
A study on gene methylation in head and neck cancer, carried out during doctoral studies, was published in Cancer Science
A study on the chromatin structure of HBV-infected hepatocytes was published in Scientific Reports
A review by Project Assistant Professor Usui on managing the risk of developing gastric cancer was published in Cancer Science
A graduate student received the Best Research Award at the KSBMB International Conference
ResearchResearch themes
The epigenome is not the base sequence of genomic DNA itself but information carried by its modifications, which is maintained and passed on to daughter cells during cell division. In normal cells the epigenome tightly controls gene function, and its abnormalities are deeply involved in the development and progression of cancer, so the lab conducts research on the cancer epigenome.
*Illustrative imageEpigenome Analysis of Clinical Specimens
The lab comprehensively obtains epigenomic information such as DNA methylation from clinical cancer specimens, classifies cancers into molecular subtypes according to their degree of methylation, and investigates the nature of the disease. Colorectal cancer and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive gastric cancer are examples.
*Illustrative imageThe Epigenome in Environmental Models
Using next-generation sequencers, the lab comprehensively examines DNA methylation, histone modifications, and even the three-dimensional proximity relationships within the genome. Using models that mimic environments involved in carcinogenesis, such as pathogen infection, hypoxia, and nutrient deprivation, it clarifies the changes that occur, including their time course.
*Illustrative imageFunctions of Epigenome-Related Factors
The lab analyzes in detail the functions of the enzymes that write modifications, the enzymes that erase them, and the complexes that include them. One ongoing project uses PROTAC and CRISPR-Cas9 technologies to investigate the function of SETD1A, a histone methyltransferase required for the survival of leukemia cells.
*Illustrative imageEpigenomic Abnormalities and the Risk of Disease
Epigenomic abnormalities that gradually accumulate in normal tissue raise the risk of developing cancer. The lab is trying to clarify, across a variety of organs, the relationship between the accumulating abnormalities and the risk of disease that follows.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Molecular Oncology Lab consist of faculty members, project researchers, graduate students, undergraduate students, technical assistants, and secretaries.As of 2026
- ProfessorAtsushi Kaneda
- Project Associate ProfessorHiroki Ueda
- Project LecturerTakuya Nakagawa
- Project LecturerKiyoko Takane
- Assistant ProfessorMasaki Fukuyo
- Assistant ProfessorMasahiro Sugiura
- Project Assistant ProfessorMotoaki Seki
- Project Assistant ProfessorGenki Usui
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “ABI PRISM 3100 Genetic Analyzer 2” Mark Pellegrini / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Epigenome Analysis of Clinical Specimens: “Pipette gallery” User:Squidonius, myself, and User:Beliason (assumed). / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- The Epigenome in Environmental Models: “Next Gen Sequencer (NIH BioArt 386)” Courtesy of NIAID Ryan Kissinger / Public domain (cropped)
- Functions of Epigenome-Related Factors: “Nucleosome core particle 1EQZ v.5” Darekk2 using the cited above Protein Data Bank (PDB) structural data / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Epigenomic Abnormalities and the Risk of Disease: “Checking Blood Sample ( )” National Eye Institute / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Advanced Data Medical Science Lab): “Illumina Hiseq 2000 sequencers, BGI Hong Kong sequencing room” Scotted400 / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Next-Generation Disaster Therapeutics Lab): “Cryo-EM structure of the human nucleosome Histone H3.3 8KB5” Hirai S, Kujirai T, Akatsu M, Ogasawara M, Ehara H, Sekine SI, Ohkawa Y, Takizawa Y, Kurumizaka H / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Bacterial Pathogen Control Lab): “Escherichia coli O157-H7 CDC ID-10071” CDC / Janice Haney Carr / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Functional Genomics Lab): “3a6p xpo5 ran miRNA” Opabinia regalis / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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