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. The gene discussed is STC2; the disease is neoplasm.