TIMP1 and neoplasm: In support of an antiapoptotic function of TIMP-1, our laboratory has recently shown that in patients with metastatic breast cancer, the response to chemotherapy was 0% in patients with primary tumours containing high levels of TIMP-1, while being 45% in patients with tumours containing low levels of TIMP-1 supporting a protective role of TIMP-1 to chemotherapy-induced apoptosis (Würtz et al, 2005).