Also, in view of the intricate connection between drug resistance, EMT and the cancer stem cell phenotype (22, 23), we evaluated various markers of cancer stem cell phenotype in our experimental model system and found that all the tested markers, Sox2, Oct4 as well as EZH2 were significantly downregulated in SNHG6-silenced MCF7TR cells, relative to the control MCF7TR cells (Figure 5B). Here, SOX2 is linked to cancer.