# CACNA1D

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/cacna1d/  
OnCo record `cacna1d` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

CACNA1D (Voltage-dependent L-type calcium channel subunit alpha-1D) is a gene that drives cell growth when it is altered. The public catalogues list it as a drug target, an oncogene driver and a tumour suppressor, and clinical evidence ties its variants to diagnosis, prognosis or drug response. Tied to Breast cancer, Skin cancer, Gastric & gastro-oesophageal junction cancer and 5 more.

## Summary

Voltage-sensitive calcium channels (VSCC) mediate the entry of calcium ions into excitable cells and are also involved in a variety of calcium-dependent processes, including muscle contraction, hormone or neurotransmitter release, gene expression, cell motility, cell division and cell death. The isoform alpha-1D gives rise to L-type calcium currents. Long-lasting (L-type) calcium channels belong to the 'high-voltage activated' (HVA) group.

Open Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.74 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes clinical 0.62, literature 0.66, genetic association 0.00, somatic mutation 0.83, animal model 0.39). IntOGen calls it a driver in 5 cohorts (3 activating, 2 loss-of-function), covering Invasive Breast Carcinoma, Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Sarcoma, NOS, Stomach Adenocarcinoma.

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: calcium voltage-gated channel subunit alpha1 D; Voltage-dependent L-type calcium channel subunit alpha-1D; Cav1.3; CACH3; CACN4; CCHL1A2; CACNL1A2
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: CACNA1D
- Class: oncogene
- Biology: Voltage-sensitive calcium channels (VSCC) mediate the entry of calcium ions into excitable cells and are also involved in a variety of calcium-dependent processes, including muscle contraction, hormone or neurotransmitter release, gene expression, cell motility, cell division and cell death. The isoform alpha-1D gives rise to L-type calcium currents. Long-lasting (L-type) calcium channels belong to the 'high-voltage activated' (HVA) group. They are blocked by dihydropyridines (DHP), phenylalkylamines, and by benzothiazepines. Voltage-sensitive calcium channels (VSCC) mediate the entry of calcium ions into excitable cells and are also involved in a variety of calcium-dependent processes, including muscle contraction, hormone or neurotransmitter release, gene expression, cell motility, cell division and cell death. The isoform alpha-1D gives rise to L-type calcium currents. Location: Membrane (UniProt). Locus 3p21.1 (HGNC).
- Where found: Breast cancer: Open Targets association 0.62 with breast cancer (MONDO_0007254); IntOGen driver in 1 cohort (BRCA); Skin cancer: Open Targets association 0.57 with skin cancer (MONDO_0002898); Gastric & gastro-oesophageal junction cancer: Open Targets association 0.53 with gastric cancer (MONDO_0001056); IntOGen driver in 1 cohort (STAD); Renal cell carcinoma: IntOGen driver in 1 cohort (CCRCC); Hepatocellular carcinoma: IntOGen driver in 1 cohort (HCC); Sarcomas: IntOGen driver in 1 cohort (SARCNOS)

## 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: Open Targets known-drug datatype score 0.62; IntOGen calls it an activating (Act) driver in 3 cohorts; IntOGen calls it a loss-of-function (LoF) driver in 2 cohorts. Evidence tier "clinical-evidence" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:1391: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:1391
- UniProt Q01668: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/Q01668/entry
- NCBI Gene 776: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/776
- Ensembl ENSG00000157388: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000157388

## 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/), [Hepatocellular carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/hcc/), [Lung cancer (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-cancer/), [Renal cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/rcc/), [Sarcomas (soft tissue, bone, GIST)](https://onco.cc/cancers/sarcoma/), [Skin cancer (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/skin-cancer/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/cacna1d.json