PTENAlterations and Their Role in Cancer Management: Are We Making Headway on Precision Medicine?

Alterations in the tumor suppressor phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) occur in a substantial proportion of solid tumors. These events drive tumorigenesis and tumor progression. Given its central role as a downregulator of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway,PTENis deeply involved in cell growth, proliferation, and survival. This gene is also implicated in the modulation of the DNA damage response and in tumor immune microenvironment modeling. Despite the actionability ofPTENalterations, their role as biomarkers remains controversial in clinical practice. To date, there is still a substantial lack of validated guidelines and/or recommendations forPTENtesting. Here, we provide an update on the current state of knowledge on biologic and genetic alterations ofPTENacross the most frequent solid tumors, as well as on their actual and/or possible clinical applications. We focus on possible tailored schemes for cancer patients' clinical management, including risk assessment, diagnosis, prognostication, and treatment.