As a key effector of EMT, overexpression of TWIST in cancer cells could lead to transition to mesenchymal phenotypes with enhanced migratory and invasive abilities of several types of cancer cells including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC; Zou et al., 2015), ovarian cancer (Sun et al., 2016), and gastric cancer (Hsu et al., 2012). This evidence concerns the gene TWIST1 and cancer.