Abstract:HIC1 (hypermethylated in cancer 1) encodes a transcriptional repressor, and extensively resides in various kinds of normal tissue. HIC1 gene is located in chromosome 17p13.3，in which loss of heterozygote or super-methylation is frequently found in a variety of human cancers. As a new tumor marker, HIC1 has been confirmed down-regulated in a wide variety of solid cancers because of HIC1 promoter hypermethylation, and may be associated with tumor prognosis. As a tumor suppressor, HIC1participates in the development of tumor process through various ways, and is involved in cell proliferation, tumour growth ,and angiogenesis. Therefore，the abnormal hypermethylation or the loss of expression of HIC1 in tumor cells or abnormal function could be one of the important mechanisms of tumor development，and may become a new potential therapeutic targets for cancer.

Key words:Neoplasms,DNA methylation,HIC1 gene