Moreover, it is conceivable that, even though survivin has no prognostic role in ovarian cancer, it might be a potential target for apoptosis-based therapy, as testified by the increasing number of approaches aimed at (i) blocking survivin in cancer cells by small molecule antagonists, antisense oligonucleotides, ribozymes, dominant negative mutants (Reed and Wilson, 2003) or (ii) utilising survivin to create a tumour vaccine with dendritic cells (Pisarev et al, 2003; Reed and Wilson, 2003). This evidence concerns the gene BIRC5 and ovarian cancer.