Study of PTEN/MTOR/akt pathway in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

The oral cavity cancer is the eighth most common cancer among men and the ninth among women. INCA estimates that in 2010 489,270 new cases occurring cancer in Brazil. Of the total, 14 120 will be the oral cavity, being 10 330 in men and 3790 in women. The development of this disease is related to the accumulation of genetic alterations, particularly in genes that regulate growth, differentiation and cell death in genes that promote stability, DNA repair and cellular and humoral immunity. The protein Akt is frequently activated in many malignancies, and its activation can occur through gene amplification or the result of mutations in components that signal activation. It is believed that Akt promotes proliferation not coordinated and increasing survival cell,, thus acting progression of cancer. In 1997 were discovered genetic alterations and protein of a protein called PTEN ("Phosphatase Tensin homologue") in several neoplasms, for example: prostate, brain (glia), breast, endometrium, skin and kidney. However, studies of the PTEN protein in the carcinogenesis of OSCC are still scarce and controversial. The study presented consists of a retrospective study, analyzing the cases of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the gingiva, alveolar ridge and hard palate in the period January 1980 to December 2006. Clinical information, the surgery and the surgical specimen are recorded in standardized form suitable for the study. Include will be to identify those records and demographic data such as (age, gender), habits (smoking and alcohol consumption), information relating to examination localized and microscopic information. Cases will be willing in blocks of TMA and immunohistochemical expression of PTEN, mTOR is pAkt, as well as determining the estatus gene PTEN through FISH will be determined. (AU)