P Baeuerle (Carlsbad, USA) described adecatumumab (MT201), a fully human anti-EpCAM antibody (Naundorf et al, 2002) that currently is in three ongoing clinical trials: two phase II studies with metastatic breast cancer and early-stage prostate cancer patients, respectively, and a phase I study testing the safety of a combination with taxotere. The gene discussed is EPCAM; the disease is prostate carcinoma.