Provided herein is a method for treating a subject afflicted with a metastatic cancer. The method includes, administering to the subject an effective amount of an agent capable of suppressing the expression of a nucleic of EF-hand domain-containing protein D2 (EFHD2) or a polypeptide encoded by the nucleic acid in the metastatic cancer of the subject. The agent may be a 2-aryl propionic acid (2-APA) compound, or a short hairpin ribonucleic acid (shRNA) that directs cleavage of EFHD2 gene RNA via RNA interference. Also provided herein is a method for detecting and/or diagnosing whether a subject having a metastatic cancer via a biological sample of the subject. The method includes steps of, measuring the level of EFHD2 nucleic acid or polypeptide in the biological sample； and comparing the amount of the EFHD2 nucleic acid or polypeptide present in the biological sample with that of a healthy subject； in which an elevated amount of EFHD2 nucleic acid or polypeptide in the biological sample relative to that of a healthy subject indicates that the cancer of the subject is likely to metastasize.在此揭示一種治療患有轉移癌個體的方法。所述方法包含施用所述個體一有效量之製劑，其能夠抑制個體轉移癌中EF手結構域蛋白D2 (EF-hand domain-containing protein D2, EFHD2)核酸或由該核酸編碼之多肽表現。所述製劑可以是2-芳基丙酸(2-aryl propionic acid, 2-APA)化合物或是短髮夾核醣核酸(short hairpin ribonucleic acid , shRNA)，其能夠透過RNA干擾機制切割EFHD2基因RNA。在此提供一種透過一個體的生物樣本偵測和/或預後個體是否患有轉移癌的方法。所述方法包含以下步驟，測量生物樣本內EFHD2核酸或多肽的含量；以及將所述生物樣本內之EFHD2核酸或多肽含量與健康個體的該些數值進行比對；其中當生物樣本內的EFHD2核酸或EFHD2多肽含量相對於健康個體之EFHD2核酸或EFHD2多肽含量高時，顯示個體之癌症可能轉移。
