Gene mutations and losses of heterozygosity of TP53 and PTEN in colorectal cancer

This study was conducted to find out if the patterns of PTEN gene molecular aberration in colorectal carcinoma are consistent with the classic molecular features ascribed to a tumour suppressor gene. PTEN gene mutations and LOH were assayed in a series of 18 colorectal carcinomas. Three PTEN gene mutations were found in 1 tumour, complete loss of one allele(LOH)in 2 tumours and allelic imbalance (AI) in 6 tumours. LOH or AI did not target the 1 tumour with the PTEN gene mutations. The widely held belief of PTEN as a classical tumour suppressor gene is not supported by the findings from this study