The Hippo pathway regulates myriad biological processes in diverse species and is a key cancer signaling network in humans. Although Hippo has been linked to multiple aspects of cancer, its role in this disease is incompletely understood. Large-scale pan-cancer analyses of core Hippo pathway genes reveal that the pathway is mutated at a high frequency only in select human cancers, including malignant mesothelioma and meningioma. Hippo pathway deregulation is also enriched in squamous epithelial cancers. We discuss cancer-related functions of the Hippo pathway and potential explanations for the cancer-restricted mutation profile of core Hippo pathway genes. Greater understanding of Hippo pathway deregulation in cancers will be essential to guide the imminent use of Hippo-targeted therapies.

河马途径调节着多种物种的无数生物学过程，是人类重要的癌症信号网络。尽管河马与癌症的多个方面有关，但其在这种疾病中的作用尚不完全清楚。对河马核心通路基因的大规模泛癌分析表明，该通路仅在某些人类癌症（包括恶性间皮瘤和脑膜瘤）中以高频率突变。河马通路的失调在鳞状上皮癌中也很丰富。我们讨论了河马通路的癌症相关功能以及核心河马通路基因的癌症限制性突变谱的潜在解释。对癌症中河马途径失调的更多了解对于指导即将使用河马靶向疗法至关重要。