Gefitinib (ZD1839, IRESSA, Astrazeneca, London, UK) is an orally active, selective EGFR tyrosine-kinase inhibitor (TKI) that blocks signal transduction pathways implicated in the proliferation and survival of cancer cells (Rusch et al, 1993; Salomon et al, 1995). Here, EGFR is linked to cancer.