These results, together with the observation that WHCO1 cancer cells plated on decellularised ECMs express increased levels of both fibronectin- and type I collagen-binding integrins (ITGα2, ITGα3, ITGα5 and ITGβ1), point to the matrix as a possible therapeutic target for drugs to inhibit cancer cell growth and metastasis. This evidence concerns the gene ITGA3 and cancer.