In a recent study in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) patients, glucocorticoid treatment increased both 11β-HSD1 and GR mRNA levels in glucocorticoid-sensitive leukaemic cells, but decreased 11β-HSD1 mRNA levels in cells resistant to the pro-apoptotic effects of glucocorticoids (Sai et al., 2009). Here, NR3C1 is linked to acute lymphoblastic leukemia.