PAX Family, Master Regulator in Cancer

PAX genes, known as master regulators, encode paired box (PAX) proteins that govern key processes in organ development and are widely expressed in normal tissues. Notably, PAX proteins also play a pivotal role in both promoting and suppressing tumorigenesis. They influence essential cellular functions such as survival, proliferation, fate determination, differentiation, invasion, metastasis, and the formation of oncogenic fusion proteins. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of these transcription factors. First, we provide a brief overview of their molecular structure, which underlies their classification into four subgroups. Then, we examine the expression patterns of each PAX gene across organ systems and explore their biological roles in the most relevant malignant neoplasms affecting human health. Additionally, we highlight their diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive significance in the context of cancer.