Similar to the result of cell proliferation assay in vitro, overexpression or knockdown of Gab1 did not show a significant effect on tumor survival (p = 0.167 upon Gab1 overexpression and p = 0.382 upon Gab1 knockdown), indicating that upregulation of Gab1 promotes metastasis by enhancing migratory behaviors of BCa but not by increasing cell viability (Additional file 2: Figure S7f). The gene discussed is GAB1; the disease is neoplasm.