Our 1040-bp MUC16 transactivation sequence shows similar or higher transcriptional activity compared to the E1A promoter in HeLa cells, a cervical cancer cell line with a relatively high CA-125 level, but limited activity in A549 cells, a lung adenocarcinoma cell line frequently used for adenovirus amplification but with a relatively low CA-125 level. This evidence concerns the gene MUC16 and lung adenocarcinoma.