On the other hand, Gao S et al. found that the cytotoxicity of TMZ to glioma cells was enhanced by autophagy when combined with thalidomide, a drug proposed to affect the PI3K (phosphatidyl inositol 3 kinase) /Akt/mTOR pathway, which plays a role in autophagy regulation [22]. The gene discussed is AKT1; the disease is glioma.