The exposure of
cancer cells to
cadmium and its compounds is often associated with the development of more malignant phenotypes, thereby contributing to the acceleration of
tumor progression. It is known that
cadmium is a transcriptional regulator that induces molecular reprogramming, and therefore the study of differentially expressed genes has enabled the identification and classification of molecular signatures inherent in human neoplastic cells upon
cadmium exposure as useful
biomarkers that are potentially transferable to clinical research. This review recapitulates selected studies that report the detection of
cadmium-associated signatures in breast, gastric, colon, liver, lung, and nasopharyngeal
tumor cell models, as specifically demonstrated by individual gene or whole genome expression profiling. Where available, the molecular, biochemical, and/or physiological aspects associated with the targeted gene activation or silencing in the discussed cell models are also outlined.