Altered expression of mucins such as MUC1 and MUC4 has been shown to regulate various processes such as tumour cell growth, cell adhesion, motility and tumorigenicity (Wesseling et al, 1995; Satoh et al, 2000; Komatsu et al, 2001; McDermott et al, 2001; Singh et al, 2004; Ponnusamy et al, 2010). This evidence concerns the gene MUC4 and neoplasm.