Co-staining for CK18 and S100a9 in the mammary epithelium at multiple developmental stages, tumor-adjacent and tumor tissues also revealed increased S100a9 protein levels (Fig. 4c and Supplementary Fig. 4e), indicating that loss of Brca1 stimulates S100a9 expression at both the mRNA and protein levels in mammary tissues. This evidence concerns the gene BRCA1 and neoplasm.