Zou et al (1994) and Sheng et al (1996) reported that maspin inhibited the invasive and metastatic potential of breast cancer cells, while Maass et al (2001a) found that maspin downregulation was associated with a higher risk of early distant metastasis in a series of breast tumour patients with short median follow-up (3 years). This evidence concerns the gene SERPINB5 and breast cancer.