In sum, our in vitro KD and KO data as well as our rescue studies and in vivo experiments suggest a correlation between Rab7a and TPC2 activity, with Rab7a acting as an enhancer of TPC2 activity, promoting tumor hallmarks such as proliferation, migration, invasion, and tumor growth, in particular in melanoma cells expressing high levels of MITF9. The gene discussed is RAB7A; the disease is neoplasm.