Recently, it has been demonstrated that reducing the expression of PKB in PTEN-deficient cells reduces aggressive growth and promotes apoptosis (Stiles et al, 2002), whereas reducing the expression of PDK1 in heterozygous PTEN+/− mice markedly protects these animals from developing a wide range of tumours (Bayascas et al, 2005). Here, PTEN is linked to neoplasm.