Human cervical cancer oncogene (HCCR) was identified by differential display RT-PCR by screened abnormally expressed genes in cervical human cancers. The overexpressed gene is not only identified in cervical tissues, but also in various human cancers as leukemia/lymphoma, breast, stomach, colon, liver, kidney and ovarian cancer. For its special sensitivities and specificities in human breast cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma, it is expected to be a new biomarker to replace or combine with the existing biomarkers in the diagnose. The HCCR manifests as a negative regulator of the p53 tumor suppressor gene, and its expression is regulated by the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, modulated by TCF/β-catenin, it also participates in induction of the c-kit proto-oncogene, in activation of PKC and telomerase activities, but the accurate biochemical mechanisms of how HCCR contributes to the malignancies is still unknown. The aim of this review is to summarize the roles of HCCR in cancer progression and the molecular mechanisms involved.
Keywords: HCCR; PI3K/Akt signaling pathway; PKC; TCF/β-catenin; p53.