AKT1 and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: Therefore, suppressing autophagy can help re‐sensitize previously resistant cancer cells and synergize with chemotherapy drugs, which was confirmed in many preclinical models.[29, 30] The increase in autophagy levels in ESCC has been reported in many studies.[19, 20, 21] Apart from PI3K, AKT, and mTOR signaling pathways, MAPK signaling pathway has also been proven to affect autophagy by interacting with several signaling pathways.[31]