STEAP2 as a Radioligand Therapy Target
STEAP2, STEAP2 metalloreductase, is a cell-surface protein. In Human Protein Atlas immunohistochemistry, STEAP2 staining is highest in colorectal cancer (100% of samples positive), liver cancer (100% of samples positive) and ovarian cancer (100% of samples positive). Clinical status: Discovery-stage (no clinical drug program), with 1 active clinical trial.
Is STEAP2 a good radioligand therapy target?
Scored against the six criteria that decide whether a protein can become a radioligand therapy:
- ✅ Cell-surface accessibility: Localized to the cell surface, so a radioligand can reach it from circulation.
- ✅ Tumor expression: High IHC staining in colorectal cancer, 100% of samples positive.
- ❔ Internalization: Not yet assessed.
- ⚠️ Clinical precedent: Discovery-stage (no clinical drug program)
- ❔ Shedding: Not yet assessed.
- ❔ Normal-tissue dosimetry: Check kidney, liver, bone marrow and salivary expression in the Human Protein Atlas tissue atlas.
STEAP2 expression in cancer
Protein expression of STEAP2 across 20 cancer types from Human Protein Atlas immunohistochemistry. The score is a weighted staining intensity from 0 to 1; "% positive" is the share of patient samples with detectable staining.
| Cancer type | IHC score | Level | % positive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorectal Cancer | 0.83 | High | 100% |
| Liver Cancer | 0.83 | High | 100% |
| Ovarian Cancer | 0.82 | High | 100% |
| Melanoma | 0.79 | High | 100% |
| Thyroid Cancer | 0.75 | High | 100% |
| Pancreatic Cancer | 0.70 | High | 100% |
| Breast Cancer | 0.70 | High | 100% |
| Head and Neck Cancer | 0.67 | High | 100% |
| Prostate Cancer | 0.64 | High | 100% |
| Gastric Cancer | 0.64 | High | 100% |
| Testicular Cancer | 0.64 | High | 100% |
| Endometrial Cancer | 0.64 | High | 100% |
| Lung Cancer | 0.61 | High | 92% |
| Kidney Cancer | 0.58 | High | 100% |
| Neuroendocrine Tumors | 0.58 | High | 100% |
| Cervical Cancer | 0.58 | High | 92% |
| Bladder Cancer | 0.52 | High | 100% |
| Glioma | 0.47 | Medium | 83% |
| Lymphoma | 0.31 | Medium | 58% |
| Skin Cancer | 0.28 | Medium | 58% |
Is STEAP2 internalized?
Nuclens has not yet extracted internalization evidence for STEAP2. Internalization matters for radioligands because an internalizing receptor traps the radionuclide inside the tumor cell. Run a full analysis to pull the latest literature.
STEAP2 clinical trials
Discovery-stage (no clinical drug program). 1 active trial reference STEAP2 (ClinicalTrials.gov, accessed 2026-06-29).
STEAP2 normal tissue expression
Normal-tissue expression in dose-limiting organs (kidney, liver, bone marrow, salivary glands) drives radioligand dosimetry risk. Nuclens is re-validating its normal-tissue values, so they are not shown here yet. See STEAP2 in the Human Protein Atlas tissue atlas, and read how normal-tissue expression predicts radioligand dosimetry risk.
STEAP2 gene essentiality (DepMap)
CRISPR knockout effect across 1257 cancer cell lines: -0.20 (not essential). Radioligands kill by radiation, not by blocking the target, so essentiality matters less than for inhibitors. A non-essential target can still be an excellent radioligand target.
Related colorectal cancer radioligand targets
c-MET (MET) · HER3 (ERBB3) · FAP · EGFR · CEA (CEACAM5) · EPCAM · SSTR2 · HER2 (ERBB2)
See all radioligand therapy targets in colorectal cancer.
See how STEAP2 ranks against 15,000 targets for your indication.
Run a free analysisData sources
Subcellular localization: UniProt via Open Targets (CC BY 4.0 / CC0). Tumor immunohistochemistry: Human Protein Atlas (CC BY-SA 4.0). Clinical trials: ClinicalTrials.gov (public domain). Gene essentiality: DepMap (CC BY 4.0). Internalization and shedding: AI-extracted from PubMed abstracts, so verify against the cited papers before relying on them. Nuclens is a first-pass triage layer, not a substitute for wet-lab validation or clinical dosimetry. Derived expression data on this page is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.