Because tumor cells often lose cell–cell adhesion, and remodel their microenvironment in a way that results in both increased stiffness and deposition of ECM which increases cellular contractility (Butcher et al. 2009), mechanical activation of NF-κB could represent an important means by which NF-κB is extrinsically activated in cancer cells. This evidence concerns the gene NFKB1 and neoplasm.