For many IGFBPs, their role in various pathological processes was demonstrated, including cancer [the IGFBP6 gene is differentially expressed in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (Chen et al., 2016); the plasma protein level of IGFBP6 changes with ovarian cancer (Gunawardana et al., 2009; Wang et al., 2013); IGFBP6 mRNA and protein levels are significantly lower in colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues and low IGFBP6 expression correlated with poor overall survival (Zhao et al., 2020)]. Here, IGFBP6 is linked to nasopharyngeal carcinoma.