Notably, the up‐regulation of ADAM‐17 (the average percentages of positive cells: 15.4 ± 0.98 vs 18.1 ± 1.12, P = .09) and AREG (14.6 ± 1.88 vs 16.8 ± 1.67, P = .39) were not found in tumour adjacent tissues of DCA‐treated mice, which suggested the specific effects of DCA on intestinal tumour cells. Here, AREG is linked to neoplasm.