VEGFA and gastric cancer: DEC1 is also associated with hypoxia, upregulating vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) for angiogenesis and tumor growth, particularly through interactions with hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), and it promotes epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in gastric cancer, enhancing metastatic potential by upregulating transcription factors like Snail and Twist [12].