HOXB9 and cancer: HOXB9, for example, can inhibit the proliferation, migration, and invasion of gastric cancer cells, induce MET transformation, and play an anti-cancer role (25); however, in pancreatic cancer, HOXB9 blocks the cell cycle process via the DNMT1/RBL2/c-Myc axis to inhibit pancreatic cancer cell proliferation (19).