FOXP2 and cancer: Interestingly, PHF2, which was confirmed to be stimulated by FOXP2 in this study, could act as a co-activator of p53 via the demethylation of histone H3K9m3 at the promoters of p53 target genes (39), providing a possible positive feedback loop for the up-regulation of FOXP2 during the MET progression in the cancer cells.