A method for identifying or validating a putative cancer therapeutic which is a CAIX inhibitor, comprising: (a) exposing cancer cells to a putative cancer therapeutic to obtain treated cancer cells, (b) measuring, of the treated cells, levels of at least four markers, wherein each of the at least four markers is from a different type of markers, the different types of markers being selected from: cancer stem cell markers selected from the group comprising CAIX, EpCAM, ALDH1A3, CD44, and CD133, epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers selected from - mesenchymal markers selected from the group comprising vimentin, smooth muscle actin, Snail-1, Snail-2, Wnt5B, Goosecoid, Zeb2, FoxC2, and p23; - and epithelial markers selected from the group comprising cytokeratin, E-Cadherin and Desmoplakin, sternness markers selected from the group comprising Notch 1 or Jagged 1, mTORC1 markers selected from the group comprising mTOR, Raptor, 4EBP1 and TSC2, and chemokine markers selected from the group comprising RANTES, PIGF, G-CSF, CXCR3, and CXCL10; (c) comparing the level of each of the at least four markers measured in step (b) with a reference level for each of the at least four markers; wherein a decrease in the levels of cancer stem cell markers, mesenchymal markers, sternness markers, mTORC1 markers, and chemokine markers if measured in step (b) and an increase in the levels of epithelial markers if measured in step (b) indicate that the putative cancer therapeutic is effective in treating cancer. (a) exposing cancer cells to a putative cancer therapeutic to obtain treated cancer cells, (b) measuring, of the treated cells, levels of at least four markers, wherein each of the at least four markers is from a different type of markers, the different types of markers being selected from: cancer stem cell markers selected from the group comprising CAIX, EpCAM, ALDH1A3, CD44, and CD133, epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers selected from - mesenchymal markers selected from the group comprising vimentin, smooth muscle actin, Snail-1, Snail-2, Wnt5B, Goosecoid, Zeb2, FoxC2, and p23; - and epithelial markers selected from the group comprising cytokeratin, E-Cadherin and Desmoplakin, sternness markers selected from the group comprising Notch 1 or Jagged 1, mTORC1 markers selected from the group comprising mTOR, Raptor, 4EBP1 and TSC2, and chemokine markers selected from the group comprising RANTES, PIGF, G-CSF, CXCR3, and CXCL10; cancer stem cell markers selected from the group comprising CAIX, EpCAM, ALDH1A3, CD44, and CD133, epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers selected from - mesenchymal markers selected from the group comprising vimentin, smooth muscle actin, Snail-1, Snail-2, Wnt5B, Goosecoid, Zeb2, FoxC2, and p23; - and epithelial markers selected from the group comprising cytokeratin, E-Cadherin and Desmoplakin, - mesenchymal markers selected from the group comprising vimentin, smooth muscle actin, Snail-1, Snail-2, Wnt5B, Goosecoid, Zeb2, FoxC2, and p23; - and epithelial markers selected from the group comprising cytokeratin, E-Cadherin and Desmoplakin, sternness markers selected from the group comprising Notch 1 or Jagged 1, mTORC1 markers selected from the group comprising mTOR, Raptor, 4EBP1 and TSC2, and chemokine markers selected from the group comprising RANTES, PIGF, G-CSF, CXCR3, and CXCL10; (c) comparing the level of each of the at least four markers measured in step (b) with a reference level for each of the at least four markers;