The PI3K AKT Pathway as a Target for Cancer Treatment

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.