Immunohistochemical analysis indicated that subcutaneous tumour tissues from the RUNX1-IT1 overexpression group exhibited weaker staining of Ki-67, vimentin and cancer stemness markers, including Sox2, Nanog, Oct4 and CD44, and stronger staining of E-cadherin compared with samples from the control group (P < 0.05, Fig. 4d). This evidence concerns the gene NANOG and cancer.