ZNF703 Overexpression may act as an oncogene in non-small cell lung cancer

Despite therapeutic advances, lung cancer remains one of the most common causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The ZNF703 gene has been identified as the driver of the 8p11-12 region and its amplification or overexpression has been associated with several types of cancers. It has also been shown that ZNF703 overexpression can activate the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. The aim of our study was to investigate the role of the ZNF703 gene in association with Akt/mTOR activation in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Expression levels in tumors and matched noncancerous tissue samples from 47 patients were analyzed by qRT-PCR and the Akt phosphorylation levels were investigated by Western blotting. Our results show that ZNF703 is up-regulated in 63.4% of NSCLC tumor samples. Althogh the correlation did not reach a statistically significant level Akt phosphorylation was increased in tumor tissues expressing high levels of ZNF703. The role of the ZNF703 gene has not been investigated in NSCLC. Our data show that ZNF703 may contribute to tumor development in NSCLC by activating the Akt/mTOR pathway.