In a study to determine whether modulating the expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) modifiers in mesenchymal stem cells and in conventional glioma cell lines might improve tumor invasion and vascularization, the authors observed that SPARC-like 1 (SPARCL1) expression was increased in both mesenchymal stem cells and glioma cell lines by lentiviral transduction. This evidence concerns the gene SPARCL1 and central nervous system cancer.