Deleted in Colorectal Cancer

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The UNC-40/DCC/Frazzled gene codes for an embryologic cell surface receptor for the signalling protein netrin. Originally named after a deletion discovered in colorectal cancers, this so called DCC gene's role in etiology of cancers (eg colorectal and pancreatic [1]) is controversial, to the extent that some consider it a misnomer, attributing the oncogenesis to neighbouring SMAD4 (and possibly SMAD2) which might have been lost in the same deletions.

Growing axons that express DCC at their growing ends continue to advance into their tissue fields when netrin is bound. If DCC doesn't bind netrin, then DCC can induce apoptosis. In addition to its embryologic role, a DCC variant is present in the normal colon and bladder. While DCC's role in neural development is reasonably established, its exact function within the cell remains debated. It has been posited to be either a receptor tyrosine kinase or a cytoskeletal structural element.

OMIM: 120470