Importantly, deregulated MYC expression drives tumour initiation and renders established tumours ‘addicted’ to it, since silencing exogenous MYC irreversibly eradicates tumour cells.10–14 Moreover, systemic expression of a dominant negative allele of MYC, called Omomyc, induced regression of established murine tumours but was tolerated by normal cells,15 suggesting the existence of a therapeutic window for the pharmaceutical inactivation of MYC. The gene discussed is MYC; the disease is neoplasm.