Syk has been reported as a pro-survival factor in many hematopoietic malignancies (Krisenko and Geahlen 2015) and some epithelial original tumours (Geahlen 2014); however, it has also been hypothesised to have a tumour suppressor role in cancers of non-immune cells (Moroni et al. 2004; Coopman et al. 2000; Coopman and Mueller 2006; Krisenko and Geahlen 2015). This evidence concerns the gene SYK and neoplasm.