MTA1 and cancer: Functional annotation of the 657 MTA1- correlated genes (criteria: abs (PCC) > = 0.3) highlighted the known DNA-related functions of MTA1, such as DNA repair, DNA-dependent transcription, etc.13, and the unknown functions in RNA-related processes, especially RNA splicing and mRNA processing (Supplementary Fig. 1a), which was extendedly confirmed in the 32 cancer types in TCGA (Fig. 1a), strongly indicative of MTA1’s role in RNA processes.