NANOG and neoplasm: Octamer transcription factor-3/4 (OCT3/4), SRY-box 2 (SOX2), Nanog and LIN28 are genes related to the tumor stem cell-like phenotype that have been proven to be related to TIE.106,107 ncRNAs can also promote the tumor stem cell-like phenotype by directly or indirectly regulating those genes (Table 3).