Moreover, knockdown of MELK using RNA interference (RNAi) has been reported to block cancer cell proliferation and trigger cell cycle arrest or mitotic catastrophe (Speers et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2014; Gray et al., 2005; Kuner et al., 2013; Lin et al., 2007; Beke et al., 2015). Here, MELK is linked to cancer.