The dark side of histones: genomic organization and role of oncohistones in cancer.

The overview of the most recent advances suggests that the oncogenic potential of histone mutations can be exerted, together with the alteration of histone PTMs, through the destabilization of nucleosome and DNA-nucleosome interactions, as well as through the disruption of higher-order chromatin structure. However, further studies are necessary to fully elucidate the mechanism of action of oncohistones, as well as to evaluate their possible application to cancer classification, prognosis and to the identification of new therapies.