Altered expression and mutations in ZIP12 have been detected in various cancers. In 145 patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma, whole exome sequencing found that 12 patients had ZIP12 missense mutations in tumors negative for microsatellite instability. Coding mutations in ZIP12 were also detected in a separate study on esophageal adenocarcinoma. Differences in ZIP12 expression has been reported in different cancers. ZIP12 mRNA was elevated in non-small cell lung cancer biopsied tissues from at least half of tested patients. ZIP12 protein abundance was lower in the breast cancer lines T47D and MDA-MB-231 when compared to non-malignant mammary cell line MCF10A.
