In addition, P388/VFL resistant cells exhibited a higher relative level of Bfl-1/A1 expression, another Bcl-2 family anti-apoptotic member (Zhang et al, 2000), which appears to play a role in the apoptotic response of tumour cells to chemotherapy, having been shown to inhibit etoposide-induced apoptosis (Wang et al, 1999a). This evidence concerns the gene BCL2A1 and neoplasm.