# EPHB2

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/ephb2/  
OnCo record `ephb2` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

EPHB2 (Ephrin type-B receptor 2) is a protein kinase, an enzyme that switches other proteins on by adding phosphate groups. The public catalogues list it as a drug target and a biomarker, and an approved or late-stage drug is recorded against it. Tied to Prostate cancer, Thyroid cancer and Neuroendocrine tumours.

## Summary

Receptor tyrosine kinase which binds promiscuously transmembrane ephrin-B family ligands residing on adjacent cells, leading to contact-dependent bidirectional signalling into neighboring cells. The signalling pathway downstream of the receptor is referred to as forward signalling while the signalling pathway downstream of the ephrin ligand is referred to as reverse signalling. Functions in axon guidance during development.

CIViC holds 2 clinical evidence items and 0 assertions across 2 variants. Open Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.71 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes clinical 0.93, genetic literature 0.30, literature 0.97, genetic association 0.19, somatic mutation 0.72, animal model 0.43).

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: EPH receptor B2; Ephrin type-B receptor 2; Hek5; Tyro5; EPHT3
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: EPHB2
- Class: kinase
- Biology: Receptor tyrosine kinase which binds promiscuously transmembrane ephrin-B family ligands residing on adjacent cells, leading to contact-dependent bidirectional signalling into neighboring cells. The signalling pathway downstream of the receptor is referred to as forward signalling while the signalling pathway downstream of the ephrin ligand is referred to as reverse signalling. Functions in axon guidance during development. Involved in the guidance of commissural axons, that form a major interhemispheric connection between the 2 temporal lobes of the cerebral cortex. Also involved in guidance of contralateral inner ear efferent growth cones at the midline and of retinal ganglion cell axons to the optic disk. In addition to axon guidance, also regulates dendritic spines development and maturation and stimulates the formation of excitatory synapses. Location: Cell membrane; Cell projection, axon; Cell projection, dendrite; Secreted (UniProt). Locus 1p36.12 (HGNC).
- Where found: Prostate cancer: Open Targets association 0.51 with prostate cancer (MONDO_0008315); CIViC evidence names this disease; Thyroid cancer: Open Targets association 0.56 with thyroid cancer (MONDO_0002108); Neuroendocrine tumours: Open Targets association 0.55 with neuroendocrine neoplasm (MONDO_0019496)

## 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 0.93; CIViC holds 2 clinical evidence items on its variants. Evidence tier "approved-drug" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:3393: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:3393
- UniProt P29323: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/P29323/entry
- NCBI Gene 2048: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/2048
- Ensembl ENSG00000133216: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000133216

## Connected records

- collections: [CIViC](https://onco.cc/collections/civic/), [Open Targets Platform](https://onco.cc/collections/open-targets/)
- cancers: [Neuroendocrine tumours](https://onco.cc/cancers/neuroendocrine/), [Prostate cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/prostate/), [Thyroid cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/thyroid/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/ephb2.json