PI3K–AKT–mTOR pathway as a therapeutic target

The PI3K–AKT–mTOR is one of the most busy signalling pathway, accepting and sending the message to the effector compartment. The pathway is very complex with activators (see the name), and inhibitors, as PTEN. Depending of the cell type this pathway participates in almost all functions of a given cell. The members of the pathway may have genetic failures, as a consequence, the risk for the development of different diseases, including cancer is high. Therefore it is logical to produce drugs to inhibit the dysregulated function. Unfortunately, despite the promising preclinical effectivity, so far only 4 drugs can be used to treat cancer patients. There are some hypothesis for the in effectivity, e.g. no useful marker for patient selection, high toxicity, false drivers for targeting. What is sure, combination therapy is much better than monotherapy.