1. ¹Scott Department of Urology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
2. ²Department of Pathology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
3. ³Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
4. ⁴Department of Radiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA

Correspondence: TC Thompson, Scott Department of Urology, Baylor College of Medicine, 6560 Fannin, Suite 2100, Houston, TX 77030, USA. E-mail: timothyt@www.urol.bcm.tmc.edu

Received 29 July 2004; Revised 17 September 2004; Accepted 19 October 2004; Published online 22 February 2005.

Abstract

The PI3-K-Akt pathway plays a central role in the development and progression of prostate cancer and other malignancies. We review original studies and summarize relevant sections of previous reviews concerning the relationships between abnormalities in the PI3-K-Akt pathway and prostate cancer progression. We discuss laboratory and clinical data that indicate gene perturbation and dysregulation of PI3-K-Akt pathway is common in prostate cancer and other malignancies. We further discuss the critical role of the PI3-K-Akt pathway in the oncogenic signaling network and provide examples that establish the PI3-K-Akt pathway as a focal point for the future development of informative biomarkers and effective therapies for prostate cancer.