# BCL9

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/bcl9/  
OnCo record `bcl9` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

BCL9 (B-cell CLL/lymphoma 9 protein) 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 Colorectal cancer, Gastric & gastro-oesophageal junction cancer, Skin cancer and 2 more.

## Summary

Involved in signal transduction through the Wnt pathway. Promotes beta-catenin's transcriptional activity.

Open Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.66 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes literature 0.98, genetic association 0.00, somatic mutation 0.85). IntOGen calls it a driver in 4 cohorts (1 activating, 3 loss-of-function), covering Colon Adenocarcinoma, Colorectal Adenocarcinoma, Stomach Adenocarcinoma.

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: BCL9 transcription coactivator; B-cell CLL/lymphoma 9 protein
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: BCL9
- Class: tumor-suppressor
- Biology: Involved in signal transduction through the Wnt pathway. Promotes beta-catenin's transcriptional activity. Location: Nucleus (UniProt). Locus 1q21.2 (HGNC).
- Where found: Colorectal cancer: Open Targets association 0.57 with colorectal cancer (MONDO_0005575); IntOGen driver in 3 cohorts (COAD, COADREAD); Gastric & gastro-oesophageal junction cancer: Open Targets association 0.52 with gastric cancer (MONDO_0001056); IntOGen driver in 1 cohort (STAD); Skin cancer: Open Targets association 0.54 with skin cancer (MONDO_0002898); Breast cancer: Open Targets association 0.53 with breast cancer (MONDO_0007254); Melanoma: Open Targets association 0.51 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 3 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:1008: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:1008
- UniProt O00512: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/O00512/entry
- NCBI Gene 607: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/607
- Ensembl ENSG00000116128: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000116128

## 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/), [Gastric & gastro-oesophageal junction cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/gastric/), [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/bcl9.json