As a type 1 DUSP, MKP-2 has been viewed as a surrogate to the prototypic MKP-1 and less extensively examined.11 However, more recent studies have identified distinct roles for MKP-2 in different cellular processes and associated pathologies such as tumour development,12 13 cancer resistance,14 cardiac myopathy,15 infection16 and inflammation. Here, DUSP4 is linked to cancer.