High levels of the antiapoptotic proteins (e.g., Bcl‐2, Bcl‐xL and Mcl‐1) are often observed in cancer, and they not only contribute to the development of the tumour but also confer resistance to current therapies including chemotherapy and radiation treatment.2a In particular, overexpression of myeloid cell leukemia‐1 (Mcl‐1) is one of the most common forms of genetic abnormalities in cancer,8 with a variety of human cancers, including pancreatic cancer, exhibiting high levels of the protein.9 This evidence concerns the gene BCL2L1 and cancer.