On the other hand, the similar response (i.e. protection from cisplatin-induced apoptosis) of melanoma cells to autophagy inducers, calpains inhibitors and trehalose, acting through mTOR-independent mechanisms [25], [42], indirectly suggests that autophagy can exert a pro-survival role through a pathway independent from (or down-stream of) mTOR. Here, MTOR is linked to melanoma.