In order to elucidate the precise role of phosphorylated HSP27 in the sensitivity to gemcitabine, we established two types of mutant HSP27-transfected Panc1 pancreatic cell lines, overexpressed non-phosphorylatable HSP27 cells and phosphorylated HSP27 cells [29], and found that the cell growth of phosphorylated HSP27 cells was markedly retarded compared with that of non-phosphorylatable HSP27 cells [29], indicating that gemcitabine-induced HSP27 phosphorylation via the p38 MAPK-MAPKAP-2 pathway leads to the growth suppression of pancreatic cancer cells. This evidence concerns the gene HSPB1 and familial pancreatic carcinoma.