Evidence suggests that matriptase becomes highly oncogenic, when not kept under strict post-translational regulation by either HAI-1 and/or HAI-2, as deregulated matriptase has been shown to cause squamous cell carcinoma formation in transgenic mice overexpressing only wild-type matriptase in the epidermis, while a simultaneous increase in either the HAI-1 and/or HAI-2 expression completely reverses the oncogenic potential caused by matriptase overexpression15–17. This evidence concerns the gene SPINT1 and squamous cell carcinoma.