A specific anti-apoptotic role for rhotekin was reported by a Taiwanese group in two 2004 publications.10,11 Having identified rhotekin in a majority of gastric cancers tested, and linking it to metastatic progression,11 they established a stable rhotekin expressing gastric cell line and showed that the cells were able to withstand apoptosis from sodium butyrate and serum deprivation. This evidence concerns the gene RTKN and gastric cancer.