SOX9 and cancer: qRT-PCR analysis of SIX1, PROM1, TFAP2A, TOX3, SOX9, ADH1B, INMT and SYNPO2, mRNA expression in 17 pairs of lung cancer and adjacent non-cancer tissue samples revealed that 12 of 17 (70.6%) tumors had increased SIX1 mRNA (14.83-fold) or PROM1 mRNA (15.16-fold), 13 of 17 (76.5%) had increased TFAP2A mRNA (26.18-fold), and 8 of 17 (47.1%) tumors had increased TOX3 mRNA (4.54-fold) or SOX9 mRNA (3.79-fold) expression in HIV-associated lung cancer compared to adjacent non-cancer tissue (Fig. 1).