[mTOR complex activity and metabolic changes as potential targets in solid tumors].

We investigated the activity and inhibition of mTOR and other metabolic pathways with their clinical significance in human breast tumors (using ten cell lines and nearly a hundred biopsy samples).Based on our results, the metabolic and mTOR inhibitor treatments showed a moderate tumor growth inhibitory effect in the cell lines subtype independently, which indicates tumor cell and tissue adaptation. Providing human tissue samples, we found a subtype independent correlation between high mTOR activity and protein expression characterizing alternative metabolic pathways with increased expression and the poor prognosis of breast tumors. Breast tumors are characterized by metabolic heterogeneity and significant metabolic plasticity, which can be targeted by combining anti-metabolic treatments and new therapies. Concerning these, an immunohistochemical evaluation (IHC panel) can be recommended, which is suitable for both metabolic plasticity evaluation and recognition of cases that may require stricter follow-up or metabolic targeted therapy due to the expected poor prognosis.