S100A9 and cancer: In the present study, xenografting of JHDM1D-AS1-overexpressing cancer cells triggered inflammation in the surrounding host stromal cells by upregulation of inflammatory genes such as Mmp3, Mmp9, S100a8, and S100a9. Tumor-promoting inflammation is one of the hallmarks of cancer progression; thus, these data may explain why JHDM1D-AS1 overexpression had more impact on in vivo tumor growth than on in vitro cell proliferation.