[9] FOXM1-null mouse embryos were neonatal lethal as a result of the development of polyploid cardiomyocytes and hepatocytes, highlighting the role of FOXM1 in mitotic division.

More recently a study using transgenic/knockout mouse embryonic fibroblasts and human osteosarcoma cells (U2OS) has shown that FOXM1 regulates expression of a large array of G2/M-specific genes, such as Plk1, cyclin B2, Nek2 and CENPF, and plays an important role in maintenance of chromosomal segregation and genomic stability.

[11] Abnormal upregulation of FOXM1 is involved in the oncogenesis of basal cell carcinoma, the most common human cancer worldwide.

[12] FOXM1 upregulation was subsequently found in the majority of solid human cancers including liver,[13] breast,[14] lung,[15] prostate,[16] cervix of uterus,[17] colon,[18] and brain.

It is thought that upregulation of FOXM1 promotes oncogenesis through abnormal impact on its multiple roles in cell cycle and chromosomal/genomic maintenance.