Table 1 Key regulatory factors of DNA methylation in cancer.

Promoter

AML, CML, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, glioma, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, gastric cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, breast cancer, esophageal cancer, bladder cancer, prostate cancer, thyroid cancer, ovarian cancer^{92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100}

Promotes EMT phenotype, cell apoptosis, cell proliferation, migration, cancer stemness, and cisplatin sensitivity (β-catenin, E-cadherin, PTEN, p18, p27, P21, P16, miR-124, miR-148a, miR-152, miR-185, miR-506), DNMT1 is also upregulated by Helicobacter pylori CagA

Suppressor

Prostate cancer, cervical cancer^101,102

Cell migration, EMT and stem cell potential

Promoter

Cervical cancer, CML, breast cancer, gastric cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, bone cancer, testicular cancer^{52,103,104,105,106,107}

Promotes cell proliferation and invasion. (VEGFA, Wnt/β-catenin signaling, miR-182, miR-708-5p)

Suppressor

Lymphoma, AML, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer^108,109,110

Low level of DNMT3a is associated with the poor survival of cancer patients and promotes tumor progression but not initiation

Promoter

CML, AML, glioma, lung cancer, breast cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, bladder cancer, cervical cancer^{52,94,111,112,113}

Promotes cell proliferation, and invasion and the chemotherapy effects of cisplatin; is associated with poor prognosis (E-cadherin, PTEN, P21, P16, miR-29b, miR-124, miR-506)

Suppressor

AML, bladder cancer^109,114

Downregulation of DNMT3a is associated with poor prognosis

MeCP2

Promoter

Prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, gastric cancer^115,116

Promotes cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, apoptosis, cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase, chemotherapy effects, regulation of estrogen receptor status, involves the MEK1/2-ERK1/2 signaling pathway (miR-638, miR-212)

Suppressor

Pancreatic cancer¹¹⁷

Decreased expression of MeCP2 contributes to cancer development

MBD1

Promoter

Pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer^118,119

Promotes cell EMT, proliferation, invasion, and metastasis and the chemoradioresistance of cancer cells and induces an antioxidant response (E-cadherin)

MBD2

Promoter

Lung cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer^{94,120,121,122}

Promotes cell invasion and metastasis (p14)

MBD4

Promoter

Colon cancer, breast cancer^123,124

Causes dominant negative impairment of DNA repair

KAISO (ZBTB33)

Promoter

Colon cancer, cervical cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, and chronic myeloid leukemia^{125,126,127,128}

Silencing of tumor suppressor genes, EMT, apoptosis, migration and invasion (Wnt/β-catenin, TGFβ, EGFR, Notch, miR-4262, miR-31)

ZBTB4

Suppressor

Breast cancer, Ewing sarcoma, prostate cancer, bladder cancer^{77,129,130,131}

Promotes cell growth and apoptosis and controls the cellular response to p53 activation, promoting long-term cell survival (miR-17-92/106b-25

ZBTB38

Promoter

Bladder cancer¹³²

Promotes cell migration and invasion (Wnt/β‑catenin pathway)

UHRF1

Promoter

Hepatocellular carcinoma, bladder cancer, renal cell carcinoma, lung cancer, retinoblastoma, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, gastric cancer, prostate cancer, melanoma, hepatoblastoma, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, cervical cancer, breast cancer, thyroid cancer^{133,134,135,136,137,138}

Promotes cell proliferation, EMT, and viability, increases hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)1α, CSCs, taxane resistance correlates with poor pathological characteristics, human papillomavirus (HPV) contributes to overexpression of UHRF1 (miR-101, miR-124, PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, MEK/ERK pathway)

UHRF2

Promoter

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, colon cancer^139,140

Promotes cell migration and invasion, and is associated with lower disease-free survival

suppressor

Colon cancer, lung cancer, esophageal carcinoma^141,142

Low level of UHRF2 is associated with shorter overall survival, vascular invasion and poor prognosis

Promoter

MLL-rearranged leukemia, AML, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, lung cancer, renal cancer^{143,144,145,146,147}

TET1-MLL fusion, cell migration, anchorage-independent growth, cancer stemness, and tumorigenicity, prevention of senescence via loss of p53, associated with a worse overall survival and sensitivity to drugs (PI3K-mTOR pathway)

Suppressor

Hematopoietic malignancy, hepatocellular carcinoma, prostate cancer, colon cancer, gastric cancer, breast cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells, ovarian cancer^90,148,149

Promotes EMT and increases cancer cell growth, migration, and invasion (miR-21-5p, Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, AKT and FAK pathways)

TET2

Suppressor

MDS, AML, CML, prostate cancer, gastric cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, leukemia^{87,150,151,152,153}

Promotes cell proliferation, colony formation, metastasis, is associated with reduced patient survival, pathologic stage, tumor grading, lymph node metastasis, and vascular thrombosis (caspase-4, ET2/E-cadherin/β-catenin regulatory loop)

TET3

Promoter

Renal cell carcinoma¹⁵⁴

Acts as an independent predictor of poor outcome

Suppressor

Head and neck cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer^155,156

Is associated with EMT, overall survival, disease-free survival (miR-30d)