Roles of AKT signal in breast cancer

The PI3K/ Akt pathway plays a central role in a variety of cellular processes including cell growth, proliferation, motility and survival in both normal and tumor cells. The PI3K/ Akt pathway is also instrumental in epithelial mesenchymal transitions and in angiogenesis during tumorigenesis. Many of the transforming events in breast cancer are a result of enhanced signaling of the PI3K/ Akt pathway. Akt therefore is considered to be a rational target for cancer therapies and inhibitors of the PI3K/ Akt pathway have been identified. In this review, we discuss the recent information about the functional roles of PI3K/ Akt pathway in tumorigenesis and progression of breast cancer.