NCB-0846 abrogates the stemness of colorectal cancer by blocking the transcription of Wnt target genes.16,20 We had previously observed that NCB-0846 downregulated the expression of stem cell markers, such as CD133, CD44 and aldehyde dehydrogenase-1 (ALDH1) in colorectal cancer cells,16 whereas such an effect was barely evident in the lung cancer cells (Supplementary Fig. S4b), suggesting that the effects of NCB-0846 are cell context-dependent and that its cancer stemness-inhibitory activity is not necessary for EMT suppression. This evidence concerns the gene ALDH1A1 and cancer.