In tumour-derived cell lines, including HeLa, MCF7 and A549, as well as RasV12-transformed mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) lines, the anti-viral drug nelfinavir was shown to activate eEF2K independently of mTORC1 inhibition or 5′ adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), leading to the phosphorylation of eEF2, decreased protein synthesis and increased cancer cell death (De Gassart et al., 2016). Here, EEF2K is linked to neoplasm.