Recently, reports have shown that aberrant loss or downregulation of E-cadherin in carcinomas may result from reversible epigenetic events (Graff et al, 1995; Lind et al, 2004) or growth factor-mediated downregulation (Hurtubise and Momparler, 2004; Wheeler, 2005), suggesting that loss of this tumour suppressor may be reversible. This evidence concerns the gene CDH1 and carcinoma.