Among the targets of EGR1 are many genes that are involved in proliferation and prevention of apoptosis, which gives EGR1 a putative role in the development of cancer. Indeed, EGR1 is overexpressed in certain cancers, such as prostate cancer, gastric cancer and cervical cancer (Eid et al., 1998; Akutagawa et al., 2008; Zheng et al., 2010). Bacterial infections have been linked to cancer, mainly through epidemiological studies. The most widely accepted link is between H. pylori, which was the first bacterium to be declared as a carcinogen, and gastric cancer (Sokic-Milutinovic et al., 2015). However, other associations have been made, such as S. enterica as a causative agent of gallbladder cancer (Scanu et al., 2015). The upregulation of EGR1 upon bacterial infection is therefore a possible important event in bacteria-associated cancer development.