The current advancement in the research of the relationship between PTEN and EGFR and the generation and progression of endometrial carcinorma

The phosphatase and tensin homology deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) gene is severely lost in tissues of endometrial carcinorma, which is a hot topic in research of the tumorigenetic mechanism of endometrial carcinoma. PTEN regulated cell growth, proliferation, apoptosis and angiogenesis by regulating three down stream signaling pathways such as 3-kinase phosphatidylinositol/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/Akt/mT0R), focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. The loss or mutation of PTEN causes tumorigenesis. This review summarizes the current research on association of PTEN and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and their downstream signaling pathways with tumorigenesis and development of endometrial carcinoma to provide theoretical evidence for gene diagnosis and gene therapy of endometrial carcinorma.