8,9 Mounting evidence further implicates AQPs in promoting cancer cell migration and proliferation, adding AQPs to an expanding list of effectors in tumor biology.10 Our previous study demonstrated that AQP3 is overexpressed in GC tissues, that its expression is associated with histological classification, lymph node metastasis and lymphovascular invasion7,11 and that its upregulation promotes the invasion and metastasis of GC cells via promoting the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the stem-like properties of gastric cancer cells.12,13. This evidence concerns the gene AQP3 and cancer.