Remarkably, following irf7 or irf8 gene knock-down with p53EPS, we observed robust tumor formation, with 65% of irf7-targeted and 42% of irf8-targeted p53EPS zebrafish developing tumors by 30 dpf, compared to 20% p53EPS incidence (Figure 4A–D, irf7 p<0.0001, irf8 p=0.0155, Fisher’s exact test), suggesting an important inhibitory role for irf7 and irf8 in p53EPS tumor initiation. Here, IRF8 is linked to neoplasm.