Previous studies have shown that Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR), CD44v (an adhesion molecule expressed in cancer stem-like cells) and OTU deubiquitinase, ubiquitin aldehyde-binding 1 (OTUB1), control and stabilize SCL7A11 expression, facilitating Cys uptake by tumor cells (Ishimoto et al., 2011; Tsuchihashi et al., 2016; Liu et al., 2019). Here, EGFR is linked to cancer.