The determinants of head and neck cancer: Unmasking the PI3K pathway mutations.

ABSTRACT: Studies attempting to identify and understand the function of mutated genes and deregulated molecular pathways in cancer have been ongoing for many years. The PI3K-PTEN-mTOR signaling pathway is one of the most frequently deregulated pathways in cancer. PIK3CA mutations are found 11%-33% of head and neck cancer (HNC). The hotspot mutation sites for PIK3CA are E542K, E545K and H1047R/L. The PTEN somatic mutations are in 9-23% of HNC, and they frequently cluster in the phosphatase domain of PTEN protein. PTEN loss of heterozygosity (LOH) ranges from 41%-71% and loss of PTEN protein expression occurs in 31.2% of the HNC samples. PIK3CA and PTEN are key molecules in the PI3K-PTEN-mTOR signaling pathway. In this review, we provided a comprehensive overview of mutations in the PI3K-PTEN-mTOR mol

SUBMITTER: Giudice FS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4130654 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature