Epigenetic mechanisms are known to play a key role in cancer progression. Specifically, histone methylation involves reversible post-translational modification of histones that govern chromatin structure remodelling, genomic imprinting, gene expression, DNA damage repair, and meiotic crossover recombination, among other chromatin-based activities. Demethylases are enzymes that catalyse the demethylation of their substrate using a flavin adenine dinucleotide-dependent amine oxidation process. Lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) and its homolog, lysine-specific demethylase 2 (LSD2), are overexpressed in a variety of human cancer types and, thus, regulate tumour progression. In this review, we focus on the literature from the last 5 years concerning the role of LSD1 and LSD2 in the main gastrointestinal cancers (i.e., gastric cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, and colorectal cancer).

Mitosis entails mechanistic changes required for maintaining the genomic integrity in all dividing cells. The process is intricate and temporally and spatially regulated by the ordered series of activation and de-activation of protein kinases. The mitotic kinases ensure the stepwise progression of entry into mitosis after the G2 phase of the cell cycle, followed by prophase, pro-metaphase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase, and subsequently cytokinesis and birth of two daughter cells with equal segregation and distribution of the genome. The major mitotic kinases include cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1), Aurora A and B Kinases, and Polo-Like-Kinase 1 (PLK1), among others. Overexpression of some of these kinases has been reported in many cancers as the mitotic fidelity and genome integrity are interlinked and dependent on these regulators, the native irregularities in these factors can be targeted as therapeutic strategies for various cancers. Here, we report and summarize the recent updates on the literature describing the various mitotic inhibitors targeting kinases, which can be used as potential therapeutic interventions for gastrointestinal cancers including gastric cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer and colorectal cancer.