To determine if changes in MCL-1 and BAX expression occur in human HER2-amplified breast cancers treated with lapatinib we examined MCL-1 and BAX mRNA expression in breast cancer biopsies obtained pre- and post-21 days of lapatinib treatment using RNAseq data obtained from the TCHL neoadjuvant clinical trial (ICORG 10–05; NCT01485926) [15] (Additional file 6: Methods). Here, MCL1 is linked to breast carcinoma.