SOX2

Overview

SOX2 (SRY-Box Transcription Factor 2) is a transcription factor essential for maintaining pluripotency and self-renewal in embryonic stem cells. In squamous cell carcinomas, SOX2 functions as an oncogene through genomic amplification at 3q26.33, a locus co-amplified with TP63. SOX2 amplification is a hallmark of squamous-lineage cancers of the lung, cervix, esophagus, and head/neck.

Alterations observed in the corpus

  • SOX2 and TP63 are co-amplified at 3q in 48% of ESCCs (ESCC) in the TCGA esophageal carcinoma cohort (stes_tcga_pub, n=90 ESCC); combined amplification rate is higher in the ESCC1 molecular subtype (classical squamous / NRF2-pathway subtype). PMID:28052061
  • SOX2 referenced as a known SCLC oncogene contributing to transcriptional addictions and super-enhancer biology in the context of chemoresistance studies PMID:28196596.
  • SOX2 is a chr_3q oncogene invoked to explain the squamous chr_3q-gain signature; its gain is proposed to rescue proliferation when AALE 3p-deleted subclones acquire chromosome-3 duplication PMID:29622463

Cancer types (linked)

  • ESCC: SOX2 amplification at 3q is one of the most prevalent copy-number events in ESCC; co-amplification with TP63 defines a squamous lineage identity marker enriched in the ESCC1 subtype. Subtype-directed Hippo/YAP1-targeted approaches are proposed for SOX2/TP63-amplified ESCC1 tumors. PMID:28052061

Co-occurrence and mutual exclusivity

  • Co-amplified with TP63 at the 3q locus in ESCC; this amplicon defines squamous lineage and is enriched in ESCC1. PMID:28052061

Therapeutic relevance

  • SOX2/TP63-amplified ESCC1 tumors with Hippo pathway activation (YAP1 amplification) are proposed candidates for Hippo/YAP1-targeted therapy. PMID:28052061

Open questions

  • Prospective clinical evidence for SOX2-amplification as a predictive biomarker for any targeted therapy in ESCC is lacking in the corpus. PMID:28052061

Sources

This page was processed by entity-page-writer on 2026-05-15. - PMID:28196596

This page was processed by wiki-cli on 2026-05-14. - PMID:29622463

This page was processed by wiki-cli on 2026-05-15.