Although synergistic effects of MET inhibition and irradiation have previously been proposed to be mediated by interference with the cytoprotective role of the MET pathway in the context of DNA repair in human glioma, gastric adenocarcinoma and lung carcinoma cells [15, 31, 48], such mechanisms were unlikely to be operating in our models since there was no synergy between irradiation and pharmacological MET inhibition in vitro (Fig. 2). The gene discussed is MET; the disease is central nervous system cancer.