Abbreviations AOM azoxymethane CAC colitis-associated colorectal cancer CD Crohn's disease CRC colorectal cancer DSS dextran sodium sulfate IBD inflammatory bowel disease MAPK mitogen-activated protein kinase miR microRNAs p38γ/p38δ p38γ and p38δ UC ulcerative colitis WT Wild type Dear Editor, Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer death according to the World Health Organization. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD) are at increased risk of developing colitis-associated CRC (CAC) 1; however, our understanding of the inflammation-cancer interplay at the molecular level is still limited. p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) (p38α, p38β, p38γ and p38δ) modulate the inflammatory response which contribute to CAC development 2. p38α (called p38) has been a therapeutic target in CD treatment, but these treatments have not progressed beyond phase I/II clinical trials 2. Interestingly, the less studied p38γ and p38δ (p38γ/p38δ) are essential in the immune response and regulate inflammatory molecule production 2–6. ...the importance of p38γ/p38δ in CRC development has been established in vitro and in an azoxymethane-dextran sodium sulfate (AOM-DSS)-induced CAC model using p38γ/p38δ-knockout mice 2, 5. Crohn's disease; CRC: colorectal cancer; DSS: dextran sodium sulfate; FPKM: fragments per kilobase of transcript per million mapped reads; ELISA: enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; GEO: gene expression omnibus; GO: gene ontology; IBD: inflammatory bowel disease; MAPK: mitogen-activated protein kinase; miRNA: microRNAs; p38γ/p38δ: p38γ and p38δ; SDS-PAGE: sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; SEM: standard error of the mean; TCGA: