Recently, gefitinib (‘Iressa’), an orally active epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor that blocks signal pathways implicated in cancer growth and metastasis, has been successfully used in lung and colon cancer (Douglass, 2003; Haringhuizen et al, 2004; Johnson et al, 2004), where it could represent an alternative monotherapy for patients with advanced tumours (Herbst, 2003). The gene discussed is EGFR; the disease is neoplasm.