# LIV-1 (SLC39A6)

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/liv1/  
OnCo record `liv1` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

LIV-1 is an oestrogen-regulated zinc transporter on most breast cancers; the ADC against it (ladiratuzumab vedotin) showed activity in triple-negative disease but was discontinued in 2024.

## Summary

LIV-1 is expressed in >90% of breast cancers including ~70% of TNBC, and in prostate, melanoma and cervical cancers. Ladiratuzumab vedotin (SGN-LIV1A, MMAE payload) produced ~25-30% responses in pretreated metastatic breast cancer and was tested with pembrolizumab; Pfizer discontinued it in 2024 after acquiring Seagen. The target remains validated for next-generation ADCs and radioligands.

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Tags: gap-fill; discontinued
- Symbol: SLC39A6
- Class: surface-antigen
- Biology: Zinc transporter of the ZIP family (SLC39A6) that localises to the plasma membrane, imports zinc and promotes EMT via STAT3/Snail; transcriptionally induced by oestrogen (hence LIV-1, from ER+ breast cancer lines).
- Where found: Breast cancer (>90% HR+, ~70% TNBC); Prostate cancer; Cervical, melanoma, pancreatic cancer (subsets)

## Notes

- TNBC and prostate rates are not well characterised in peer-reviewed series with a stated denominator; the ~70% TNBC figure comes from sponsor assays reported in trial abstracts.

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SLC39A6
- Ladiratuzumab vedotin (JCO 2019 abstract): https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2019.37.15_suppl.1094

## Connected records

- cancers: [HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-hr-positive/), [Prostate cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/prostate/), [Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)](https://onco.cc/cancers/tnbc/)
- technologies: [Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)](https://onco.cc/technologies/adc/)
- companies: [Pfizer (incl. Seagen)](https://onco.cc/companies/pfizer/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/liv1.json