TRPM4 expression in the CCLE cancer cell lines was inversely correlated with the IC50 of acetalax in those cell lines (ρs = − 0.45, p-value < 2.2E-16) (additional file 4: Fig. S2), suggesting that cancer cell lines with higher TRPM4 expression are more sensitive to acetalax. The gene discussed is TRPM4; the disease is cancer.