In addition to A549 cell line, the positive correlation was also observed in NSCLC tissues, in which invading tumor cells were strongly stained for phospho-ERK1/2 and weakly stained for E-cadherin, indicating that the mechanical relation between E-cadherin and ERK in an A549 model cell line is relevant in NSCLC, demonstrating the importance of aberrant ERK activation in the invading tumor cells with EMT phenotypes. The gene discussed is MAPK3; the disease is neoplasm.