As a genetically controlled program, apoptosis has important roles in a variety of biological processes. The realization that chemotherapy can also induce apoptosis in some cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo indicates apoptosis may play a very important role in cancer and cancer therapy (1,2). Many of the molecules that participate in the apoptotic cell suicide have been identified. At the heart of this pathway are a family of cysteine proteases, the "caspases" (3).