Analysis of the response of OvCa cells and HPMCs to TGF‐β in vitro for 1 and 6 h showed that pSmad3 was translocated to the nucleus in HPMCs, whereas it remained cytoplasmic in OvCa cells, suggesting that the TGF‐β1–Smad3 pathway is truncated in these tumour cells (Figure 4B). This evidence concerns the gene SMAD3 and neoplasm.