Here we use human bladder cancer as a model disease and show that AURKA contributes to bladder cancer aggressiveness by enhancing the invasiveness of tumor cells through modulation of the transcription factor Pax-3 causing the downregulation of the nicotinamide N-methyltrasferase (NNMT) gene resulting in the downstream overexpression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP). The gene discussed is PAX3; the disease is urinary bladder carcinoma.