Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Cancer epigenetics

A functional map of m6A sites in cancer

Nature Cancer volume 7, pages 399–401 (2026)Cite this article

Subjects

RNA N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant internal RNA modification, yet its functional landscape in cancer remains poorly defined. A study now introduces a METTL3-based RNA base-editing screen that maps functional m6A sites and reveals m6A-dependent translational activation of the tumor suppressor CHD9 in prostate cancer and beyond.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Functional interrogation of m6A sites reveals a tumor-suppressive CHD9 pathway.

References

  1. Zaccara, S., Ries, R. J. & Jaffrey, S. R. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 20, 608–624 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Roundtree, I. A., Evans, M. E., Pan, T. & He, C. Cell 169, 1187–1200 (2017).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Meyer, K. D. & Jaffrey, S. R. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 15, 313–326 (2014).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Bao, X. et al. Nucleic Acids Res. 54, D279–D290 (2026).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Tang, Y. et al. Nucleic Acids Res. 49, D134–D143 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. He, P. C. & He, C. EMBO J. 40, e105977 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Xu, X. et al. Nat. Cancer https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-026-01117-2 (2026).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Konermann, S. et al. Cell 173, 665–676.e614 (2018).

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Zhang, X. et al. Cell 189, 922–938.e23 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Barbieri, I. & Kouzarides, T. Nat. Rev. Cancer 20, 303–322 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Wang, X. et al. Cell 161, 1388–1399 (2015).

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Shi, H. et al. Cell Res. 27, 315–328 (2017).

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Truesdell, P. et al. NPJ Precis. Oncol. 8, 186 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epigenetics & Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Yalong Wang & Han Xu

Authors
  1. Yalong Wang
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Han Xu
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Han Xu.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, Y., Xu, H. A functional map of m6A sites in cancer. Nat Cancer 7, 399–401 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-026-01137-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-026-01137-y

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing