Those include the correlation between levels of OPN protein either in blood or in tumor biopsies with worse outcomes; data from single-cell RNA analysis of tumor biopsy samples detail the production of OPN by tumor cells as well as tumor-associated leukocytes, experiments exploring mechanisms upstream from the transcription of the OPN gene (SPP1) and downstream processes resulting from increased levels of OPN, as well as animal studies investigating the role of OPN in various models of cancer and, in particular, in genetically modified mice. Here, SPP1 is linked to cancer.