As shown in Fig. 2A, the proliferative STICs upregulated several tumor-promoting DEGs, including NACC1, NOTCH3, IGFBP2, LAMC1, STMN1, SOX4, SOX17, BCAM, FASN, and others frequently associated with HGSCs32–37. This evidence concerns the gene NOTCH3 and neoplasm.