Taking COAD as a paradigm of cancers displaying ribosomal dysfunctions associated to amino acid starvation, we show that, in a harsh nutritional context, GCN2 actively contributes to COAD cancer cell plasticity through the repression of 47S pre‐rRNA synthesis, constituting a barrier against an irreversible nucleolar stress and ultimately cell death. This evidence concerns the gene EIF2AK4 and cancer.