Silencing TLR4 signalling in tumour cells results in reduced tumour formation (Huang et al, 2005), and the inhibition of tumour-cell apoptosis by TLR-signalling was also observed in ovarian, lung cancer, and myeloma cells (Jego et al, 2006; Kelly et al, 2006; He et al, 2007). This evidence concerns the gene TLR4 and plasma cell myeloma.