To investigate the critical genes associated with the recurrence of TNBC, we conducted a cDNA open array analysis involving 224 expressed genes using paired TNBC tissue samples (16 recurrent and 24 non-recurrent patients) (Supplementary Information 1) and found that MEGF11 was significantly upregulated in tumour tissue that was associated with subsequent clinical recurrence compared to those without recurrence (Fig. 1a). Here, MEGF11 is linked to neoplasm.