The phosphoinositide 3-kinase signaling network is widely implicated in the pathogenesis of human cancer. This pathway is commandeered by cancer cells to promote unrestrained cellular growth and survival. In this brief review, we speculate about the uses of inhibitors of phosphoinositide 3-kinase signaling as treatments for human cancers, with an emphasis on non-small cell lung cancer.

The simple phosphoinositide PtdIns3P has been shown to control cell growth downstream of amino acid signalling and autophagy downstream of amino acid withdrawal. These opposing effects depend in part on the existence of distinct complexes of Vps34 (vacuolar protein sorting 34), the kinase responsible for the majority of PtdIns3P synthesis in cells: one complex is activated after amino acid with...