The special AT-rich sequence binding-protein1 (SATB1) attracts excessive attention due to its high expression in a variety of malignancies. SATB1 reprograms chromatin and transcription profiles to promote tumor cell growth and invasion and inhibit apoptosis, leading to tumor progression and metastasis. Consistently, silencing SATB1 with small interfering RNA inhibits the growth and invasion of some kinds of tumors. In this review, we highlight recent progress in our understanding of the role of SATB1 as global regulator of gene expression during cancer development, and evaluate the potential of SATB1 as a molecular therapeutic target for cancers with aberrant SATB1 expression.
Keywords: Cancer; Metastasis; SATB1; Target therapy.