XIAP siRNA enhances sensitivity to methotrexate in hepatoma (Chen et al, 2006), to cisplatin, fluorouracil and etoposide in oesophageal carcinoma (Zhang et al, 2007), to TRAIL in melanoma, breast cancer and pancreatic cancer (Chawla-Sarkar et al, 2004; McManus et al, 2004) and also sensitises pancreatic cancer cell lines to γ-irradiation (Giagkousiklidis et al, 2007). This evidence concerns the gene XIAP and hepatocellular carcinoma.