In many cases tumor development creates the need for alterations that help transformed cells escape defense mechanisms of the host organism such as apoptosis.19 We have observed previously that a cell lineage-specific expression profile of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins is lost in tumor cells, which is associated with increased dependency of tumor cells on these proteins.15 Compared with cancer cells, the studies investigating anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 members in non-malignant cell are less comprehensive. This evidence concerns the gene BCL2 and cancer.