Background:
This gene is a member of the XAGE subfamily,which belongs to the GAGE family. The GAGE genes are expressed in a variety of tumors and in some fetal and reproductive tissues. This gene is strongly expressed in normal testis,and in Ewing’s sarcoma,rhabdomyosarcoma,a breast cancer and a germ cell tumor. The protein encoded by this gene shares a sequence similarity with other GAGE/PAGE proteins. Because of the expression pattern and the sequence similarity,this protein also belongs to a family of CT (cancer-testis) antigens. [provided by RefSeq,Jul 2008]