MTOR and cancer: Previous studies have shown that PDK1 can activate the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway to promote tumor proliferation and invasion (Jiang et al. 2021; Sambandam et al. 2019); Additionally, phosphorylation of PDK1, an upstream regulator of C-Myc, activates PLK1-MYC signaling and promotes cancer proliferation (Chinen et al. 2014).