PI3K/AKT/mTOR: role in breast cancer progression, drug resistance, and treatment

Anti-cancer cancer-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. Mutations in the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT/mTOR pathway are freqcuently found in breast cancers and associated with cellular transformation, tumorigenesis, cancer progression, and drug resistance. Several drugs targeting PI3K/ATK/mTOR are currently in clinical trials, mainly in combination with endocrine therapy and anti-HER2 therapy. These drugs are the focus of this review.