DDIT4 and cancer: Although mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway inhibition is a current strategy for the treatment of cancer [8, 9], paradoxically, several in vitro and in vivo studies indicate that DDIT4 has a protective role against apoptosis [10–12]; DDIT4 knockdown increases dexamethasone-induced cell death in murine lymphocytes [10].