It has been hypothesized that CD98hc plays a similar role in cancer cells as in lymphocyte activation, which is the amplification of β1 and β3 integrin signalling, reducing anchorage dependence and promoting cell proliferation by modulating cyclin-dependent kinase regulation through ERK signalling (Cantor & Ginsberg, 2012 ▸). This evidence concerns the gene SLC3A2 and cancer.