Although some studies have reported that hypoxia increases EpoR expression in non-haematopoietic cells (Farrell and Lee, 2004), research in breast carcinoma cell lines (LaMontagne et al, 2006) indicated that hypoxia did not affect EpoR expression and that Epo exposure did not induce cell proliferation or activate signalling molecules such as MAPK or Akt, which act downstream of EpoR. This evidence concerns the gene EPO and breast carcinoma.