title: Targeting PI3K signalling in cancer: opportunities, challenges and limitations.
abstract: There are ample genetic and laboratory studies that suggest the PI3K-Akt pathway is vital to the growth and survival of cancer cells. Inhibitors targeting this pathway are entering the clinic at a rapid pace. In this Review, the therapeutic potential of drugs targeting PI3K-Akt signalling for the treatment of cancer is discussed. I focus on the advantages and drawbacks of different treatment strategies for targeting this pathway, the cancers that might respond best to these therapies and the challenges and limitations that confront their clinical development.
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02129, USA. jengelman@partners.org
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Engelman
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000502:physiology*; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000502:physiology; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D011494:Protein Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; C546842:MTOR protein, human