Based on the opposite expression that exists between glycolytic and bioenergetic markers of the mitochondria during development, differentiation and in cancer [18], we calculated the bioenergetic signature of the biopsies (BEC index = βF1/Hsp60/GAPDH ratio) [3] and different alternative ratios between the catalytic subunit of the H+-ATP synthase (β-F1-ATPase) and the expression of GAPDH or LDH-A (Table 1 and Additional file 4: Figure S4) [19]. The gene discussed is HSPD1; the disease is cancer.