NDRG1 and cancer: NDRG1 is known as a metastasis and oncogenic suppressor in cancers of the brain, breast, colon, esophagus, pancreas and prostate, and also as an oncogenic promoter in cancers of the kidney, liver, mouth, skin and stomach2, 11, suggesting that the effects of NDRG1 as a tumor suppressor or tumor promoter depends on tumor type.