Page 42 - ARNM-3-3

Advances in Radiotherapy &

Nuclear Medicine

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Role of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/protein

kinase B signaling in androgen-independent
prostate cancer progression

Fengmei Cai 1 , Ying Zhao 1 , Lili Yang 1 , Jia Wang 1 , Wei Qian 1 , Ge Zhang 1
, Hongmei Qiao * , and Huilian Hou *
3
2
1 Department of Pathology, Xi’an Fourth Hospital, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
2 Department of Oncology, Gansu Wuwei Cancer Hospital, Wuwei, Gansu, China
3 Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi,
China

Abstract

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in males. Over time,
many patients develop castration-resistant PCa, which is associated with a poor
prognosis. Although the mechanisms underlying treatment failure remain unclear,
the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) pathway plays an
important role in the failure of castration treatment. This study aims to explore the
*Corresponding authors: role of the PI3K/Akt pathway in androgen-independent PCa (AIPC) using clinical data
Hongmei Qiao and validate the cellular-level experimental findings by analyzing the expression
(409bjzl@163.com)
Huilian Hou of androgen receptor (AR), PI3K, and Akt in PCa. Patients were classified into two
(hlhou2017@163.com) groups: AIPC (n = 38) and androgen-dependent PCa (ADPC) (n = 38). The expression
Citation: Cai F, Zhao Y, levels of AR, PI3K, or Akt were evaluated through immunohistochemical analysis.
Yang L, et al., 2025, Role of Statistical analyses were performed to examine the correlations among AR, PI3K, and
phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/ Akt. Significant differences (p < 0.01) were observed between groups with prostate-
protein kinase B signaling in
androgen-independent prostate specific antigen levels ≤20 ng/mL and >20 ng/mL. The Gleason score in the AIPC
cancer progression. Adv Radiother group was significantly higher than in the ADPC group (p < 0.01). Positive expression
Nucl Med. 2025;3(3):34-42. of AR, PI3K, and phosphorylated Akt was observed in the nucleus, cytoplasm, and
doi: 10.36922/ARNM025160018
both the cytoplasm and nucleus, respectively. In AIPC patients, AR, PI3K, and Akt
Received: April 18, 2025 were positively correlated, confirming the clinical relevance of PI3K and Akt in the
Revised: June 17, 2025 progression of AIPC. These findings suggest that the PI3K/Akt pathway serves as a
potential regulator of AR activation and plays a crucial role in the progression of AIPC.
Accepted: July 4, 2025
Published online: July 29, 2025
Keywords: Androgen receptor; Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase; Protein kinase B;
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s). Androgen-independent prostate cancer
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, 1. Introduction
provided the original work is
properly cited. Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common malignant tumors of the male
Publisher’s Note: AccScience reproductive system. In 2022, 1,466,680 new cases of PCa were reported worldwide,
Publishing remains neutral with accounting for 7.3% of all cancers and ranking fourth in terms of incidence. Among
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional these, 396,792 cases resulted in death, representing 4.1% of all cancer-related deaths
1
affiliations. and ranking eighth in mortality. PCa poses a significant health threat to elderly men.

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2025) 34 doi: 10.36922/ARNM025160018