# USP7

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/usp7/  
OnCo record `usp7` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

USP7 (Ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase 7) is a gene whose normal job is to hold cell growth in check. The public catalogues list it as a tumour suppressor, a biomarker and a DNA repair gene, and clinical evidence ties its variants to diagnosis, prognosis or drug response. Tied to Multiple myeloma and Burkitt lymphoma.

## Summary

Hydrolase that deubiquitinates target proteins such as ARMC5, FOXO4, DEPTOR, KAT5, p53/TP53, MDM2, ERCC6, DNMT1, UHRF1, PTEN, KMT2E/MLL5 and DAXX. Together with DAXX, prevents MDM2 self-ubiquitination and enhances the E3 ligase activity of MDM2 towards p53/TP53, thereby promoting p53/TP53 ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Deubiquitinates p53/TP53, preventing degradation of p53/TP53, and enhances p53/TP53-dependent transcription regulation, cell growth repression and apoptosis.

CIViC holds 1 clinical evidence item and 0 assertions across 1 variant. IntOGen calls it a driver in 2 cohorts (0 activating, 2 loss-of-function), covering Burkitt Lymphoma, Plasma Cell Myeloma.

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: ubiquitin specific peptidase 7; Ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase 7; HAUSP
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: USP7
- Class: tumor-suppressor
- Biology: Hydrolase that deubiquitinates target proteins such as ARMC5, FOXO4, DEPTOR, KAT5, p53/TP53, MDM2, ERCC6, DNMT1, UHRF1, PTEN, KMT2E/MLL5 and DAXX. Together with DAXX, prevents MDM2 self-ubiquitination and enhances the E3 ligase activity of MDM2 towards p53/TP53, thereby promoting p53/TP53 ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Deubiquitinates p53/TP53, preventing degradation of p53/TP53, and enhances p53/TP53-dependent transcription regulation, cell growth repression and apoptosis. Deubiquitinates p53/TP53 and MDM2 and strongly stabilises p53/TP53 even in the presence of excess MDM2, and also induces p53/TP53-dependent cell growth repression and apoptosis. Deubiquitination of FOXO4 in presence of hydrogen peroxide is not dependent on p53/TP53 and inhibits FOXO4-induced transcriptional activity. In association with DAXX, is involved in the deubiquitination and translocation of PTEN from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, both processes that are counteracted by PML. Location: Nucleus; Cytoplasm; Nucleus, PML body; Chromosome (UniProt). Locus 16p13.2 (HGNC).
- Where found: Multiple myeloma: IntOGen driver in 1 cohort (PCM); Burkitt lymphoma: CIViC evidence names this disease; IntOGen driver in 1 cohort (BL)

## 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 a loss-of-function (LoF) driver in 2 cohorts; CIViC holds 1 clinical evidence items on its variants; UniProt keyword "DNA repair". Evidence tier "clinical-evidence" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:12630: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:12630
- UniProt Q93009: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/Q93009/entry
- NCBI Gene 7874: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/7874
- Ensembl ENSG00000187555: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000187555

## Connected records

- collections: [CIViC](https://onco.cc/collections/civic/), [IntOGen](https://onco.cc/collections/intogen/)
- cancers: [Burkitt lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/burkitt-lymphoma/), [Multiple myeloma](https://onco.cc/cancers/multiple-myeloma/)
- pathways: [Ubiquitin-proteasome system & protein homeostasis](https://onco.cc/pathways/ubiquitin-proteasome-system/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/usp7.json