Programmed cell death has been implicated in various aspects of cancer development. Apoptotic capacity is a subject of significant interindividual variations, which are largely attributed to hereditary traits. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located within cell death genes may influence cancer risk in various ways. Low activity of apoptosis may favor cancer development because of the failure to eliminate cellular clones carrying DNA damage and propensity to inflammation, but may also protect against malignancy due to preservation of antitumor immune cells. Phenotyping studies assessing cell death rate in cancer patients versus healthy controls are limited in number and produced controversial results. TP53 R72P polymorphism is the only SNP whose functional impact on apoptotic response has been replicated in independent investigations. Intriguingly, meta-analysis of TP53 genotyping studies has provided evidence for the association between apoptosis-deficient TP53 genotype and tumor susceptibility. Systematic analysis of cancer-predisposing relevance of other apoptotic gene SNPs remains to be done.