In publically available data sets, interrogated using Oncomine, RPL3 was downregulated: two-fold in ovarian adenocarcinoma compared with normal ovary (P-value 6.94 × 10−10) (Welsh et al, 2001), and 36-fold in breast tumour stroma compared with normal stroma (P-value 1.06 × 10−28) (Finak et al, 2008). Here, RPL3 is linked to ovarian adenocarcinoma.