PTEN and cancer: Selection pressures in humans commonly result from genes that contribute to resistance to infectious diseases (about 20% of human cancers are caused by or associated with viruses), optimal use of nutritional opportunities (the IGF-PI3K-PTEN-mTOR pathways help to regulate this), or the highest levels of fecundity, leaving more offspring in a population (the p53 pathway can participate in this and is discussed below).