Clinicopathological significance of common PIK3CA exon mutations in non-metastatic colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase catalytic subunit Alpha (PIK3CA) is closely correlated with colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the role of PIK3CA in colorectal cancer, particularly in non-metastatic disease, remains inconsistent. In this study, the clinicopathological significance of PIK3CA and its common exon mutations in non-mCRC was explored. METHODS: Data from 448 non‑mCRC patients were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and from 655 non‑mCRC patients at our center. Associations of PIK3CA and its common exon mutations with clinicopathological features and overall survival (OS) were analyzed in non‑mCRC. RESULTS: In the TCGA cohort, the PIK3CA mutation rate was 26.3%, and mutations were associated with tumor site, TNM stage, and regional lymph node metastasis. Exon 9 mutations correlated with tumor site, while exon 20 mutations were linked to tumor site and lymph node metastasis. In our institutional cohort, the mutation rate was 7.8%, with PIK3CA and exon 20 mutations showing correlations with age, tumor site, TNM stage, and lymph node metastasis. However, neither in TCGA nor in our cohort were PIK3CA mutations or common exon mutations associated with overall survival (OS). CONCLUSION: PIK3CA mutation is correlated with age, tumor site, TNM stage, and regional lymph node metastasis in non-mCRC. However, PIK3CA and common exon mutations are not associated with OS in patients with non-mCRC.