Revisiting mTOR inhibitors as anticancer agents

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a highly conserved serine/threonine kinase that regulates a variety of cellular processes, influencing diverse pathological conditions including a variety of cancers. Accordingly, therapies that target mTOR as anticancer agents benefit patients in various clinical settings. It is therefore important to fully investigate mTOR signaling at a molecular level and corresponding mTOR inhibitors to identify additional clinical opportunities of targeting mTOR in cancers. In this review, we introduce the function and regulation of the mTOR signaling pathway and organize and summarize the different roles of mTOR in cancers and a variety of mTOR inhibitors that can be used as anticancer agents. This article aims to enlighten and guide the development of mTOR-targeted anticancer agents in the future.