Another potential explanation is that the elevated baseline levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in tumor cells may render these cells more susceptible to ROS-inducing agents like thimerosal, leading to the activation of downstream signaling pathways, including RIPK3 (Trachootham et al, 2009; Trachootham et al, 2006; Zhou et al, 2003). This evidence concerns the gene RIPK3 and neoplasm.