Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Oct 7, 2016; 22(37): 8247-8256
Published online Oct 7, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i37.8247
Impact of homeobox genes in gastrointestinal cancer
Moon Kyung Joo, Jong-Jae Park, Hoon Jai Chun
Moon Kyung Joo, Jong-Jae Park, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine Guro Hospital, Seoul 08308, South Korea
Hoon Jai Chun, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Institute of Digestive Disease and Nutrition, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul 02841, South Korea
Author contributions: Joo MK wrote the paper; Park JJ and Chun HJ revised the manuscript for critical intellectual content.
Supported by the Korean College of Helicobacter and Upper Gastrointestinal Research Foundation Grant; and a Korea University Grant, No. K1512661.
Conflict-of-interest statement: None of the authors have potential conflicts (financial, professional, or personal) that are relevant to this publication.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Hoon Jai Chun, MD, PhD, AGAF, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Institute of Digestive Disease and Nutrition, Korea University College of Medicine, 126-1, Anam-dong 5 ga, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, South Korea. drchunhj@chol.com
Telephone: +82-2-9206555 Fax: +82-2-9531943
Received: July 4, 2016
Peer-review started: July 6, 2016
First decision: July 29, 2016
Revised: August 13, 2016
Accepted: August 23, 2016
Article in press: August 23, 2016
Published online: October 7, 2016
Processing time: 87 Days and 22.9 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Aberrant up- or downregulation of homeobox genes may play pivotal roles in the development and progression of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. Core research in GI cancers has focused on non-HOX genes including caudal-related homeobox transcription factor 2. However, recent studies have demonstrated significant functions of specific HOX genes, including HOXB7, HOXA13, and HOXD10, in GI cancers. Here, we review the major research data concerning the deregulation of homeobox genes in GI cancers and their underlying mechanisms.