%0 Journal Article
%T Highly frequent PIK3CA amplification is associated with poor prognosis in gastric cancer
%A Jing Shi
%A Demao Yao
%A Wei Liu
%A Na Wang
%A Hongjun Lv
%A Guanjun Zhang
%A Meiju Ji
%A Li Xu
%A Nongyue He
%A Bingyin Shi
%A Peng Hou
%J BMC Cancer
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1471-2407-12-50
%X Using direct sequencing and real-time quantitative PCR, we examined PIK3CA mutations and amplification, and their association with clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcome of gastric cancer patients.PIK3CA mutations and amplification were found in 8/113 (7.1%) and 88/131 (67%) gastric cancer patients, respectively. PIK3CA amplification was closely associated with increased phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt) level. No relationship was found between PIK3CA mutations and clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcome in gastric cancer. PIK3CA amplification was significantly positively associated with cancer-related death. Importantly, Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed that the patients with PIK3CA amplification had significantly shorter survival times than the patients without PIK3CA amplification.Our data showed that PIK3CA mutations were not common, but its amplification was very common in gastric cancer and may be a major mechanism in activating the PI3K/Akt pathway in gastric cancer. Importantly, Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed that PIK3CA amplification was significantly positively associated with poor survival of gastric cancer patients. Collectively, the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway may be an effective therapeutic target in gastric cancer.Gastric cancer is highly prevalent in Asia, particularly China, and is one of the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide [1]. The histological classifications of gastric cancer involve two distinct types, intestinal and diffuse [2]. Although recent diagnostic and therapeutic advances have provided excellent survival for patients with early gastric cancer, the gastric cancer is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage and the prognosis is still poor [3], reflecting limited advances in our understanding of the pathogenesis of this disease and the molecular events that contributed to its development. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of gastric cancer may lead to new diagnostic, the
%K Gastric cancer
%K PI3K/Akt pathway
%K PIK3CA mutations
%K PIK3CA amplification
%K Poor survival
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/12/50