Turning off the `master switch' for cancer.

Reports on a breakthrough made by researchers at the British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA) in the discovery of an agent that is capable of inhibiting tumor cell growth. How integrin-linked kinase (ILK) prevents tumor cell death; How ILK is suppressed by the gene PTEN in non-cancerous cells; How the absence of PTEN in cancerous cells leads to the spread and growth of tumors; Study methods; Results; Discussion of the finding that ILK-inhibiting compounds prevent both the growth and spread of tumor cells.