The Impact of ALX Genes Expression Difference on Cancer

Abstract

Cancer is a disease that became well-known in the twentieth century. Some factors cause cancer such as environmental factors or mutations formed in the genome and differentiation in gene expression. Differentiation in gene expression happens because of the hypomethylation or hypermethylation in some parts of the genome. Early diagnosis and treatment of cancer are very important due to its mechanism and occurring for various reasons. Therefore the science world aimed to gather more information about cancer and its early diagnosis methods. The estimate of the prognosis was made possible by the information and new tests revealed by the development of science and technology. According to the information obtained about epigenetics and its mechanism, DNA methylation has emerged. Some tests identify the Aristaless-like homeobox family (ALX) gene with methylation differences and detect them in cancer tissues or cells. Furthermore, it has been found that there are no methylation differences in some cancer types. The ALX1, ALX3, and ALX4 genes from the homeobox gene family were mentioned in this review, and methylation differences in these genes can be biomarkers in many cancer types. Also, the types of cancers associated with ALX genes that are hypermethylated, hypomethylated, or do not perform any expression alterations were discussed in this review.

Cite this article as: Sevinc S, Babayakalı A, Erbaş O. The Impact of ALX Genes Expression Difference on Cancer. JEB Med Sci 2021;2(3):399-405.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.