A recent study on immunohistochemical detection of DDR-associated molecules, including 53BP1, suggests that GIN is an early event that occurs in pulmonary hyperplasia prior to changes in the p53 tumour suppressor gene during lung carcinogenesis in patients, suggesting that GIN may serve as a causative link between precancer and cancer.33 Thus, measurement of GIN, a hallmark feature of solid tumours that is implicated in both the initiation and progression of cancers, may serve as a valuable molecular marker of malignant potential. This evidence concerns the gene TP53BP1 and cancer.