Drug resistance is a major obstacle in the treatment of cancers. In an aggressive type of pancreatic cancer, for instance, drug resistance is associated with the suppression of programmed cell death, which results in the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells. Until recently, the process underlying this phenomenon had remained unknown. A team of researchers has now elucidated the way in which different factors interact in order to enable these cancer cells to survive. They were able to show that inhibition of a key protein limits cancer growth. The researchers' findings may herald a new treatment target for aggressive cancers.