Furthermore, by retrieving RNA-seq data from TCGA data sets, we found that Smyca expression levels positively correlated with the expression of a set of c-Myc target genes in the tumor tissues of breast cancer and HCC patients (Additional file 1: Fig. S6D), thus supporting the clinical relevance of Smyca-activated c-Myc signaling to human cancers. This evidence concerns the gene MYC and hepatocellular carcinoma.