Phosphatase and tensin homolog gene deleted on chromosome 10(PTEN) plays an essential role not only in cell cycle regulation, limiting cell growth, and proliferation, but also in cell migration regulation, adhesion, and maintenance of the stability of the immune system through the signal transduction pathway. The PTEN gene may not undergo mutation and deletion during the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC) but may be specifically related to the reduction of the PTEN mRNA expression level. The PTEN protein exhibits decreased expression in different histological types of specimens, ranging from healthy oral mucosa and oral submucous fibrosis(OSF) to OSCC. This event is important in the pathogenesis and malignant transformation mechanism of OSF. The expression of the PTEN protein is related to the histological and biological behavior of OSCC and can be used as a prognostic indicator of OSCC. The low expression of the PTEN protein caused by different factors may cause difficulty in performing its role on coordination of cell cycle, control of programmed cell death and cell adhesion, inhibition of metastasis and proliferation of cancer cells.
