# AFDN

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/afdn/  
OnCo record `afdn` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

AFDN (Afadin) is a gene whose normal job is to hold cell growth in check. The public catalogues list it as an oncogene driver, a tumour suppressor and a fusion partner, and it is called a cancer driver by mutation analysis of patient cohorts. Tied to Breast cancer, Skin cancer, Colorectal cancer and 2 more.

## Summary

Belongs to an adhesion system, probably together with the E-cadherin-catenin system, which plays a role in the organisation of homotypic, interneuronal and heterotypic cell-cell adherens junctions (AJs). Nectin- and actin-filament-binding protein that connects nectin to the actin cytoskeleton. May play a key role in the organisation of epithelial structures of the embryonic ectoderm.

Open Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.66 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes literature 0.94, animal model 0.59, genetic association 0.00, somatic mutation 0.85). IntOGen calls it a driver in 3 cohorts (1 activating, 2 loss-of-function), covering Invasive Breast Carcinoma, Colorectal Adenocarcinoma.

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: afadin, adherens junction formation factor; Afadin; AF-6; AF6; MLLT4
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: AFDN
- Class: tumor-suppressor
- Biology: Belongs to an adhesion system, probably together with the E-cadherin-catenin system, which plays a role in the organisation of homotypic, interneuronal and heterotypic cell-cell adherens junctions (AJs). Nectin- and actin-filament-binding protein that connects nectin to the actin cytoskeleton. May play a key role in the organisation of epithelial structures of the embryonic ectoderm. Essential for the organisation of adherens junctions. Location: Cell junction, adherens junction (UniProt). Locus 6q27 (HGNC).
- Where found: Breast cancer: Open Targets association 0.57 with breast cancer (MONDO_0007254); IntOGen driver in 2 cohorts (BRCA); Skin cancer: Open Targets association 0.58 with skin cancer (MONDO_0002898); Colorectal cancer: Open Targets association 0.53 with colorectal cancer (MONDO_0005575); IntOGen driver in 1 cohort (COADREAD); Lung cancer: Open Targets association 0.51 with lung cancer (MONDO_0008903); Melanoma: Open Targets association 0.55 with melanoma (MONDO_0005105)

## Notes

- Written by scripts/fetch-cancer-genes.ts from CIViC, Open Targets, IntOGen, HGNC and UniProt; the function text is UniProt's, condensed and in UK spelling. Roles: IntOGen calls it an activating (Act) driver in 1 cohort; IntOGen calls it a loss-of-function (LoF) driver in 2 cohorts; UniProt disease notes describe a translocation or gene fusion involving the gene. Evidence tier "cohort-driver" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:7137: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:7137
- UniProt P55196: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/P55196/entry
- NCBI Gene 4301: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/4301
- Ensembl ENSG00000130396: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000130396

## Connected records

- collections: [IntOGen](https://onco.cc/collections/intogen/), [Open Targets Platform](https://onco.cc/collections/open-targets/)
- cancers: [Breast cancer (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-cancer/), [Colorectal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/colorectal/), [Lung cancer (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-cancer/), [Melanoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/melanoma/), [Skin cancer (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/skin-cancer/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/afdn.json