AMPK and Cancer.

This chapter focuses on the role of AMPK as a stress-response molecule with an emphasis on its duplex implication in carcinogenesis and cancer drug resistance. AMPK is closely correlated to the tumor-suppressive functions of LKB1 and P53, consequently modulating the activity of cellular survival signaling such as mTOR and Akt, leading to cell growth inhibition and cell cycle arrest. On the contrary, AMPK is tightly involved in cancer drug resistance via interacting with multiple known mechanisms of chemoresistance such as ABCG2 expression, autophagy induction, and cancer stem cells enrichment. Targeting AMPK has become a novel strategy for cancer prevention and treatment.