MTOR and cancer: Autophagy is differentially regulated in aging and is also involved in pathophysiological processes including cancer.1, 2, 3 Canonical autophagy responds to environmental cues via a variety of factors that mainly belong to homologs of autophagy-related (atg) genes originally identified in yeast.4 The two major regulators controling canonical autophagy are the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex 1 (mTORC1) that negatively regulates autophagic activity and the Beclin1/class III phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) complex required for nucleation of the autophagosomal membrane.