Cancer stem cells (CSCs) exhibit unique characteristics of plasticity, unlimited self-renewal and quiescent state that make them responsible for tumor origin and heterogeneity, therapy resistance, recurrence and metastatic spread.

In this context, our group and others have demonstrated that SOX9, a developmental transcription factor that is a master regulator controlling super-enhancer dynamics in stem cell plasticity, regulates CSCs and exerts a relevant oncogenic role in different types of cancer such as glioblastoma, gastric, colorectal or pancreatic cancer. Given that fact, and with the aim of identifying drivers of CSCs, we have determined the top-genes most correlated with SOX9 in gastric cancer through computational analyses and we have selected a group of candidate genes based on their function and/or clinical impact. For the selected genes, we have performed gain-and-loss of function studies in vitro and in vivo and omics strategies to evaluate their role in the regulation of CSCs and the processes linked to this population. Following this approach, we have initially identified some promising genes that could represent suitable targets in the treatment of cancer.