MUC1 and neoplasm: Molecular biomarkers, such as somatic mutations in certain genes (p53, BRCA1, BRCA2), the appearance or expression of certain tumor proteins (MUC1, HER2, PSA) or the chemical environment of the tumor (anoxic, hypoxic) have been shown to serve as very powerful prognostic or predictive indicators (Piccart et al. 2001; Duffy 2001; Baldus et al. 2004).