Depletion of embigin leads to increase in proliferation, anchorage-independent growth and migration of breast cancer cells, and the inhibitory effects mediated by HOXC8 knockdown on breast tumorigenesis can be largely rescued by depletion of embigin expression in breast cancer cells, suggesting that HOXC8 regulates breast tumorigenesis, at least partly, through regulating embigin expression. This evidence concerns the gene HOXC8 and breast cancer.