POU5F1 and colorectal carcinoma: While in CRC, highly expressed SOX2 regulated its downstream targets, including cyclin D1 (CCND1), MYC (mainly referred to as c-Myc), and POU class 5 homeobox 1 (POU5F1), and promoted their expression levels, thus upregulating CD133, CD44, and epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM).