Under physiological conditions, STC2 is highly expressed in skeletal muscle, heart, testis and pancreas8, 10; while under pathological conditions, STC2 is upregulated in a plethora of human tumours, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), cervical cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, prostate cancer, renal cell carcinoma, etc.7, 8, 11, 12. Here, STC2 is linked to hereditary clear cell renal cell carcinoma.