ERCC6 and cancer: The probability of developing cancer causing mutations is expected to be extremely low in CS cells, that display an elevated apoptotic potential, as it was demonstrated in a study performed on human CSB and hamster UV61 (carrying a mutation in the homolog of the human csb gene) cells: indeed, both cell lines displayed an increased apoptotic response following UV exposure compared with normal cells, thus avoiding the onset of mutations (Balajee et al., 2000).