Moreover, cleaved caspase 8 and 3 were seen at 48 h, whereas intrinsic apoptosis markers such as caspase 9 and Bax remained unaffected (27), in all rfhSP-D-treated pancreatic cancer cell lines as compared to untreated cells, which further confirmed the cell death via Fas-mediated pathway alone. This evidence concerns the gene CASP8 and familial pancreatic carcinoma.