text: There are >50 human diseases associated with SINEs. When inserted near or within the exon, SINEs can cause improper splicing, become coding regions, or change the reading frame, often leading to disease phenotypes in humans and other animals. Insertion of Alu elements in the human genome is associated with breast cancer, colon cancer, leukemia, hemophilia, Dent's disease, cystic fibrosis, neurofibromatosis, and many others.