Preclinical data suggest that the anti-apoptotic functions of TIMP-1 are mediated through the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt survival pathway [15,37] and TIMP-1 in this manner protects cancer cells from the effects of chemotherapy and hence cancer cells lacking TIMP-1 would remain sensitive to chemotherapy. This evidence concerns the gene AKT1 and cancer.