The PI3K/AKT Pathway as a Target for Cancer Treatment

Abstract

Anticancer targeted therapies are designed to exploit a particular vulnerability in the tumor, which in most cases results from its dependence on an oncogene and/or loss of a tumor suppressor. Genes in the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway are the most frequently altered in human cancers. Aberrant activation of this pathway, as a result of these somatic alterations, is associated with cellular transformation, tumorigenesis, cancer progression, and drug resistance. Several drugs targeting PI3K/ATK are currently in clinical trials, alone or in combination, in both solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. These drugs are the focus of this review.

Keywords: breast cancer; lymphoproliferative disorders; mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR); mutation; pathway inhibitors; phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT.