Messenger RNAs (mRNAs) are transcribed from DNA, and serve as templates for the synthesis of proteins by ribosomal translation. Weak mRNAs contain long and highly structured untranslatable regions at their 5’ end. This lengthy region makes it difficult for enzymes to determine where transcription should begin. As a result, initiation factor proteins are required for translation of the message into protein. These weak mRNAs, or mRNAs that carry the code for proteins involved in the development of cancer cells, require cap-dependent translation which necessitates the cellular involvement of the eIFs. Examples of weak mRNAs include those that code for proliferation-related, and anti-apoptotic proteins. Strong mRNAs, in contrast, are translated with much less cellular machinery such as eIFs and generally code for biologically necessary proteins, such as those needed for the essential metabolic processes of a cell. Therapies such as the use of 4EGI-1 against cancer cells can thus be created such that their biologic targets include only the initiation factors involved in the production of weak mRNA’s.