Baseline levels of Caspase-3/-7 activity in serum were higher in patients who went on to have progressive disease (PD) and a poor response to therapy (n=7, 3082.7±1173.1 relative light units (RLU)), while those patients who showed a response to therapy and stable disease (SD, n=14) or partial tumour regression (PR, n=9) displayed lower Caspase-3/-7 activity (1579.8±239.8 RLU; Figure 2a). This evidence concerns the gene CASP3 and neoplasm.