HOXA9 and cancer: To evaluate the clinical utility of HOXA9 in stage stratification, we analyzed gene expression data across different clinical stages (stages I-IV) in 11 cancer types and revealed significant differential expression in BRCA, HNSC, ESCA, KIRC, LIHC, LUSC, and STAD (p value < 0.05), but not in COAD, KIRP, READ (not reported), or PRAD (Fig. 7).