As Beclin 1 interacts with members of the bcl-2 protein acting as a tumour suppressor (Cao and Klionsky, 2007), potentiation of the anti-apoptotic machinery may account, at least in part, for the poor outcome of patients having Beclin1-negative colonic tumours and would not necessarily be related to severe environmental stress. The gene discussed is BCL2; the disease is neoplasm.