Granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) has been shown to be effective at reducing neutropenia-related infections in patients with cancer after chemotherapy.3 In order to study the potential benefits of GM-CSF in preterm growth-restricted infants, we undertook PROGRAMS, a single blind, multicentre, randomised trial of GM-CSF in very preterm SGA babies, to determine whether treatment resulted in a reduced incidence of infection, mortality and morbidity in the neonatal period and over the longer term. This evidence concerns the gene CSF2 and cancer.