RIOX2 and breast cancer: For instance, increased MDIG expression is associated with longer OS in breast cancer patients with lymph node or distal metastasis.224 Likewise, overexpression of MDIG is indicative of prognosis only in patients at stages I/II, but not in stages III/IV patients.216 These results suggest that MDIG may be an oncogene that promotes tumor growth at early stages and a tumor-suppressive gene that reduces the metastatic capacity of tumor at late stages.