The chaperone activity of TRAP1 is enhanced by its ERK-mediated phosphorylation16, and dysregulated activation of Ras/ERK signaling is mandatory for the malignant growth of a variety of cancer types, including highly aggressive pancreatic adenocarcinoma and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors, where we show that TRAP1 has a dramatic inhibitory effect on SDH activity (this study and ref. 39). Here, TRAP1 is linked to cancer.