Targeting the PI3K/AKT/MTOR pathway in KSHV-associated cancers

1750-9378-4-S2-O7 1750-9378 Oral presentation Targeting the PI3K/AKT/MTOR pathway in KSHV-associated cancers Bhatt A Bhende P Damania B

Lineberger Cancer Center and Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

Infectious Agents and Cancer Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Malignancies in AIDS and Other Acquired Immunodeficiencies (ICMAOI): Basic, Epidemiologic, and Clinical Research Publication of this supplement was made possible with support from the Office of HIV and AIDS Malignancy, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. Meeting abstracts – A single PDF containing all abstracts in this Supplement is available here. http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1750-9378-4-S2-info.pdf 11th International Conference on Malignancies in AIDS and Other Acquired Immunodeficiencies (ICMAOI): Basic, Epidemiologic, and Clinical Research Bethesda, MD, USA

6–7 October 2008

http://oham.cancer.gov 1750-9378 2009 4 Suppl 2 O7 http://www.infectagentscancer.com/content/4/S2/O7 10.1186/1750-9378-4-S2-O7 17 6 2009 2009 Bhatt et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is linked to three different human cancers: Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) and multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD). We have previously reported that the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway is critical for the survival of KSHV-infected endothelial cells and B cells, and have demonstrated that Rapamycin/Sirolimus, an inhibitor of mTOR, can induce PEL cell death in vitro and in vivo (Sin et al., Blood. 2007. 109(5):2165–73). We have now extended these findings and demonstrate that therapeutic targeting of other members of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signal transduction pathway can also induce cell death in PEL in vitro and inhibit tumor growth in murine xenograft models. Importantly, some of these novel drug candidates have passed clinical trials for other indications and can therefore be tested for efficacy against KS and AIDS-associated lymphomas.