Numerous studies have suggested that ITGA11, ITGB4 and ITGB8 are involved in migration, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, invasion, and metastasis in different cancers (Gan et al., 2018; Huang et al., 2017; Kitajiri et al., 2002; Li et al., 2017). The gene discussed is ITGB8; the disease is cancer.