PDCD4 and neoplasm: Potential mechanisms include PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog) tumor suppressor gene downregulation [46,47], decreasing the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and caspase-3 activity thus negatively modulating apoptosis [48], as well as translational repression of the tumor suppressor PDCD4 (programmed cell death 4) [42,49] and downregulation of TIMP3 (tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 3) which is thought to function as an inhibitor of metastasis [42].