PTEN and prostate cancer: There is compelling evidence in mice confirming PTEN as a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor gene: loss of one allele leads to the progression of a lethal polyclonal autoimmune disorder [31]; epithelial cancers, such as prostate cancer, are driven by PTEN heterozygosity [32]; cellular levels of PTEN protein inversely correlate with the occurrence of invasive prostate cancer [1].