Importantly, this new oncogenic activity of WIP1 seems to be p53 independent, as WIP1 inhibited p38 phosphorylation and enhanced stemness-related protein expression and CSC properties, and the WIP1 inhibitor GSK2830371 reduced the expression of stemness-related transcription factors and the cancer stemness marker ALDH1 in H1299 cells with homozygous deletion of the TP53 gene (Figs. 2a, d–f and 5g). This evidence concerns the gene TP53 and cancer.