To investigate whether IL-22 and HOXB-AS5 affect BC cell growth, we performed an MTT assay to detect the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells and observed that IL-22 and HOXB-AS5 could synergistically enhance the growth of MDA-MB-231 cells (P < 0.001, Figure 4C left), and inhibition of HOXB-AS5 could block this effect in MCF-7 cells (P < 0.001, Figure 4C right). Here, IL22 is linked to breast cancer.