Previous reports in solid tumors25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and hematologic malignancies31, 32, 33, 34, 35 have shown that BKM120, alone or in combination with other drugs (e.g. standard chemotherapy or other small molecules), inhibits cell cycle progression and promotes apoptosis induction through the selective inhibition of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway activity, thus supporting its potential clinical role in cancer. The gene discussed is AKT1; the disease is cancer.