STK11 and cancer: Even though the LKB1-AMPK axis was initially associated with tumor-suppressive roles (Huang et al., 2008), recent studies have demonstrated pro-tumorigenic functions for AMPK, including inhibition of apoptosis, promoting anchorage-independent growth and, more recently, cancer cell migration (Hindupur et al., 2014; Jeon and Hay, 2015; Kim et al., 2011; Ng et al., 2012; Wang et al., 2010).