PIWIL2 and colonic neoplasm: Since we identified downregulation of PIWIL2 in colon tumors beginning from early forms of the disease, such as in N0 tumors, we then sought to examine the status of PIWIL2 in precancerous conditions in the colon, such as in inflammatory bowel disease that significantly increases the risk for colon cancer (Kim and Chang, 2014; Gordon et al., 2018).