The latest advances in the sequencing methods in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) tissues have revolutionized our understanding of the disease by taking off the veil from the most frequent genetic alterations in the components of the oncogenic pathways. Among all the identified alterations, aberrancies in the genes attributed to the phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3K) axis have attracted special attention as they were altered in more than 90% of the tissues isolated from HNSCC patients. In fact, the association between these aberrancies and the increased risk of cancer metastasis suggested this axis as an "Achilles Heel" of HNSCC which may be therapeutically targeted. The results of the clinical trials investigating the therapeutic potential of the inhibitors targeting the components of the PI3K axis in the treatment of HNSCC patients, either alone or in a combined-modal strategy, opened a new chapter in the treatment strategy of this malignancy. The present study aimed to review the importance of the PI3K axis in the pathogenesis of HNSCC and also provide a piece of information about the breakthroughs and challenges of PI3K inhibitors in the therapeutic strategies of the disease.

中文翻译：

---

头颈部鳞状细胞癌中的 PI3K /Akt/ mTORC 信号轴：作为单一药物或与常规疗法组合的治疗干预的可能性

头颈部鳞状细胞癌 (HNSCC) 组织测序方法的最新进展通过揭开致癌途径成分中最常见的基因改变的面纱，彻底改变了我们对该疾病的理解。在所有已确定的改变中，归因于磷酸肌醇 3-激酶 (PI3K) 轴的基因异常引起了特别关注，因为它们在从 HNSCC 患者分离的 90% 以上的组织中发生了改变。事实上，这些异常与癌症转移风险增加之间的关联表明该轴是 HNSCC 的“致命弱点”，可能是治疗靶向的。研究针对 PI3K 轴成分的抑制剂在单独或联合模式治疗 HNSCC 患者中的治疗潜力的临床试验结果，开启了该恶性肿瘤治疗策略的新篇章。本研究旨在回顾 PI3K 轴在 HNSCC 发病机制中的重要性，并提供有关 PI3K 抑制剂在该疾病治疗策略中的突破和挑战的信息。