title: From Rapa Nui to rapamycin: targeting PI3K/Akt/mTOR for cancer therapy.
abstract: One of the most prominent pathways explored in the area of targeted therapy is the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway, which plays a central role in cell survival and proliferation. Deregulation of this pathway has been implicated in the promotion of cancer cell growth and survival. Inhibition of several steps of this pathway has been shown to confer favorable antitumor activity in a variety of cancer types. This article provides a brief analysis of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway, its importance in tumor pathogenesis and the current status of preclinical and clinical studies targeting signaling components of this pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Georgios V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Georgakis
authors.forename: Anas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Younes
mesh_terms: D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / Q000494:pharmacology; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002470:Cell Survival; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000201:enzymology; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D020123:Sirolimus / Q000494:pharmacology; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
chemical_list: D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D011494:Protein Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D020123:Sirolimus; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; C546842:MTOR protein, human