TNXB and cancer: ECM proteins such as TNXB and BCAN, and cytoskeletal components such as TUBB, contain modular repeats which can be overexpressed in cancer, which is a major factor driving tumor invasion and metastasis, as they change ECM physical properties and tumor cell mechanics, which facilitates tissue invasion and cell migration, as the tumor cell needs to actively degrade and remodel the surrounding matrix to move [138].