According to the mainly suppressive nature of DNA methylation, the HOXA5 gene is hyper-methylated and downregulated in colon cancer, and its re-expression induces loss of the cancer stem cell phenotype, preventing tumor progression and metastasis by inhibiting the β-catenin/WNT (Wingless-related integration site) signaling pathway [43]. Here, HOXA5 is linked to neoplasm.