As DCLK1 has been universally identified as a cancer stem cell (CSC) marker essential for maintaining cancer stemness and promotion of cancer initiation and metastasis in many types of cancers (10–12, 39, 40), we next sought to find out whether DCLK1-induced cell proliferation was associated with the increased expression of known stemness biomarkers. The gene discussed is DCLK1; the disease is cancer.